Aggressive, mostly - my characters are, for the most part, natural leaders. They can take a small part of the story and run with it. However, this mostly depends on the GM and players around me and how much they're taking things upon themselves. I like balance in an RP, so I can play either side of this.

Favorite Genres:

Fantasy and Sci-Fi are my two major favorites. However, I tend to be quite the picky player. I prefer an RP with a great deal of development...the world, the lore, everything. And for those GMs looking for help with lore, I love to world build!

Genre You DON'T Like:

I'm not a huge fan of Libertine (obviously, since I don't have that part of the Resume filled out), but I particularly hate anything that involves as Master/Slave relationship. Don't expect me to even look at you should you offer that. I also am not a huge fan of RPs where gay couples are the main focus - it's not so much that I hate gays (as I really like a lot of them RT). It's more the fact that I don't know how to play one, as I, myself, am not gay. Finally, I will very rarely play a fandom RP unless there is a great deal of creativity from the creator that brings an element to the story that whatever it's based off of doesn't really have. On the ever, rare occasion, though, I'll make an exception to the fandom idea.

The threat of war storms over Kabola once more, threatening to completely wipe out the dragon population. A mysterious enemy has risen high atop Mount Tarja, gaining the allegiance of the Tarjan Army, the greatest army of varonians to have ever stepped foot on the Mainland. But the gods have a trick up their sleeve. Ten special varonians have been chosen to make a bond with ten different breeds of dragon – known simply as the Pact – allowing them to speak to the dragons and use unique and special abilities. With their soulmates backing them and their comrades at their sides, will these dragon riders be able to conquer the brewing evil, or will it finally prove to be too much for the gods and their beloved dragons to handle?​

For more information, be sure to explore this page! If this interests you, be sure to either PM me or post on here any and all questions you may have. Enjoy!​

RULES HAVE HAD AN OVERHAUL! ALL PLAYERS - NEW AND OLD - PLEASE REVIEW THEM!​

Hello!

I'm Mowkie, and you're looking at my first ever full Partheus role play!

Partheus is my world, and it has been a work in progress for the past nine years. The story you see above is the overall intro to The Mercy of Inhalla, the true war of Kabola, which is the largest of the three continents of Partheus. It is the setting for the final book of the trilogy I'm currently working on. Because of the amount of characters and separate personalities needed, I thought it would be awesome to have a group role play involving the ten chosen that I can later use as inspiration for the book.

This role play will require a great deal of dedication from all players.

It will have moments that are somewhat slow.

It will also have moments that are rather fast.

But most importantly, it will be a full dive story that will allow you, the player, to affect a world previously unknown to you. Your character will meet fantastic creatures, possibly fall in love, and find a power within them that they never knew was possible.

There will be drama.

Suspense.

Awesomesauceness.

Due to a bunch of LIFE happening, we all decided to reboot with a bit of a better startoff that won't be quite so boring. It was during this point of limbo that many of the original players decided it was best to move on. So, for a fresh start, we begin with almost all new players!​

​

Kabolais a world that was once filled with peace and tranquility. Upon its beautiful surface, all sorts of wondrous creatures lived harmoniously beneath the benevolent rule of the creations of Kallydrana.

The Dragons.

It was by their kind guidance and beneath their thoughtful gazes that the various bits of life thrived beyond the creations of the Kalidyrre, Kallydrana’s children. And for centuries, it would remain this way.

Until the jealousy of Varon, Kallydrana’s first grandchild, destroyed the peace and created the first abomination fueled to do one thing and one thing only.

Hate.

Varonians, as they called themselves, were the picturesque of perfect in Varon’s eyes. Those with golden hair, fair skin, and shimmering blue eyes would be the ones to rule over the others in his image. At first, all they would do was worship Varon as their one and only God. Beneath his rule, they took over the edge of the Thruskior Mountains and began to build villages that would later become towns and even great cities. The City on the Mountain, known at the time as Tarjana beneath the rule of King Tarja I, became the capital. At first, it was a barren town built in a circle around the base of the largest mountain in the land, but as time passed, the mountain was carved up and up until at the very top sat a castle carved of the very stone the mountain had to offer.

It was at this time that Varonians met their first dragon.

The dragon’s name was Allara, a beautiful creature of fifty feet with opalescent eyes and scales darker than even the night sky. She greeted the strange creatures before her with kindness and an open heart.

In return, they attacked her.

This early in their lives, Varonians were not yet capable of bringing down a dragon…much less a Kallydran Dragon, the first species to rise from the soil of Kabola. Still, she flew away and watched from afar as the violent creatures grew and populated, slowly beginning to cover the Eastern half of Kabola. Their violence began to spread like wildfire to other areas, meeting other species. Some opened themselves up to the creatures, while others shut them out.

But not all Varonians were evil. Upon seeing the great Allara, some of them wandered away from the hatred and built their own settlements. One of the most well-known across what came to be known as the Mainland was the City of Ranas – also known as the City of Dragons. Run by a circle of women known simply as the Priestesses, this city came to acknowledge the power of the dragons. In return, the dragons would come and teach them of Kallydrana – Inhalla, as they knew her – and the Kalidyrre.

All of this, however, is gone…as it has been for a long time, now.​

Kabola is not a world of peace and tranquility. Not anymore.

Instead, it is a world divided by corruption, loss, and hatred.​

Across the Mainland, war brews thickly as tension rises across the mountains that guard the heart of the land. Since the last war that created a chaos so thick, it nearly destroyed all life, nothing has seemed safe. No one rests peacefully. Not for the last thousand years.

And now, it seems to have begun again. This time, however, it will be bigger…and if it is not contained before the storm hits, it may very well be the end of all things.

The last war, known only as the Great War, was around a thousand years after Varonians first opened their eyes to behold the wonders of Kabola. When the dragons roamed freely, Varon placed as much of his hatred for Kallydrana, Queen of the Gods, into the minds of his creations, driving them to desire only one thing – the death of all dragons. Upon building settlements and armies, they prayed to their Almighty God, who gave them his orders. Upon receiving them, the Varonians laid siege to every dragon they could find, killing hundreds – even thousands – of precious dragons. For a century, the slaughter continued until, finally, Kallydrana found a way within the laws of the Thestimosa – the Universe – to help her children without destroying the world.

By the time the Great War ended, all of the Kallydran Dragons, the rulers of all dragons and the first creations of Kallydrana, were wiped away from existence. All but one, the great Allara, the first and oldest of all beautiful onyx creatures. With most of the other dragons now hiding from the hatred and rage of the humans, and Allara’s task done, she hid herself away from almost a thousand years, hoping that with time, Varonians would begin to see the beauty of peace.

Instead, she was forced to watch as some of the dragons lost themselves to their hatred, growing in anger and finding themselves to be almost as cruel as most Varonians. These dragons would never return to their benevolent roots. However, she also saw that others found pity for these senseless beings who could not witness the true power of their Inhalla – their Mother of All – and the Kalidyrre, the Council of the Gods. Allara saw with horror that the surface of Kabola would forever be scarred by this war, and the skies would no longer be filled with dragons.

Varonians became detached from the rest of the Mainland, separating themselves into a single half, coming to be known as the Plains of Varon. The rest of the continent was taken over by those who revered the Kalidyrre, the original ten gods and their queen. Bracchus Elves ruled the Plains of the Pilgrim on the other side of the mountain ranges and the massive Lake Waconiba to the North. The Verian Forest was forever closed off to the Varonians by the Dalin Elves and the Ksiux Dragons. It was only in the Plains of Varon that Varonians were able to rule…and rule they would, building cities and farms all across the great expanse to better tame the land.

Within the hearts of many Varonians, however, the compassion that had met their hearts during the Great War never truly left. And it was that compassion – that love – that gave Kallydrana hope. So, she waited with the watchful eyes of her sweet daughter, Allara, for the right time to let that love blossom.

It’s been well over a thousand years since the end of the Great War. Varonians have settled and become somewhat docile. Population has boomed, and diversity has grown across the lands. Dragons have been given a chance to also grow in population, remaining hidden and away from the gazes of Varonians in hopes of keeping the violence at bay. However, this is not always the case, as every year or so, a few dragons die at the hands of Varon’s creations.

As for the fate of the Kallydran Dragon, Allara was never able to find a mate of the same noble breed. Now, even she has perished, leaving her only child, the Kallydran half-blood known as Xaria, to watch over the Mainland has she had done. With her is a woman of silver hair and striking eyes by the name of Akihanna Lyrial, who keeps in her heart a special hatred towards her own kind. Having made a special bond with the half-blood, known simply as the Pact, Aki is able to keep the seed of love buried within her…but it has not yet blossomed. Yet, having been forced through destiny and duty to travel with a man by the name of Mauras and his High Dragon, Xanras, for the past ten years, Aki’s seed has slowly begun to sprout, her hatred towards Varonians beginning to wan.

In the last year and a half, this unlikely group discovered an ancient prophecy blessed by the great Inhalla to the Priestesses of Ranas near the end of the Great War.

In the Hearts of Twelve shall findThe seed that oft’ gets left behindWith Minds of Ihnikxia bound Pure and StrongLove shall take hold and Right all the Wrong

During their discovery, nine dragon eggs were placed at various locations, hidden throughout the Plains of Varon by their mothers. Left to be found by the souls that had been chosen by the dragons within each egg, they called out to the hearts of the few Varonians that gave Kallydrana a spark of hope.

In their own ways, each chosen Varonian found their egg, and before their eyes a baby dragon hatched and claimed them. With a deep sense of compassion that was unfamiliar to each of these chosen creatures, they kept hold over the babies, caring for them as best they could while also keeping them away from the watchful eyes of other Varonians. Though unable to communicate with the little dragonlings, there was a bond that none could deny. A bond of friendship, and a seed of love that had begun to sprout.

For a year and a half, Aki and Mauras searched for these Varonians spoken of in the prophecy. For a year and a half, each chosen, unbeknown of their own destiny, travelled in the shadows with their young dragons, protecting them and caring for them in their own ways. Though they had no idea they were heading towards Silver Tail Island or why they would be, each group headed in relatively the same direction…until finally, they meet at the base of the Thruskor Mountains.

It is here that the young Chosen learn of their destiny and choose the path that was always meant for them.​

GM Encounters are, for the most part, random and at my own discretion. They can be battles, or they can be opportunities that require renown and character intelligence. Because the original system that had been created was a little too complicated, I've decided that these encounters will require dice rolls that will be made by me here on Iwaku.

In a GM Encounter, the player will be notified IC through the general formatting. A red solid border will surround the GM text with a title looking like, "GM Encounter - Title." There may or may not be an image of some sort at the top of the post with character requirements beneath it.

First, there will be a line that names the character - "GM to [Character Name Here]." Below that, there will be a roll requirement of 1-10 to pass the encounter. Bonuses will be given throughout the RP at my discretion. You can keep track of these bonuses in the Cast List, and everything will be updated on a month-to-month basis RT.

The player responds with "[Character Name] to GM" at the top to let me know that you are responding to the Encounter. No matter how good your writing is, the outcome of the Encounter all depends on the roll of the dice.

In my next response - still titled the same as before - I will first post, "ON HOLD," before rolling a 10-sided dice on the same post. Then, I will write the reaction. Bonuses will be added before the outcome is fully calculated.

Not all battles will be in Encounter format, nor will all actual Encounters. These will just be opportunities that allow your character to gain bonuses they would otherwise not have. This is also a good way to help your character gain certain skills.

Any and all battles will be heavily monitored. Because we're going to stick to the integrity of players instead of doing a complicated way, if I think in any way your characters are going beyond their skill level, I will mention it in the OOC before the power of the Kalidyrre comes crashing down on your character IC in the form of some sort of shock...be it a lightning strike, typhoon, or any other way I can think of to bring you down a notch. Keep to the abilities of your characters.

Age
There really is no telling just how long a dragon can live. Some believe the great beasts could survive millions of years, others believing merely hundreds. But for all dragons, there is truly no age limit. There are simply age classifications, which are listed below.

Hatchling...............0 to 2 YearsYouth.....................2 to 16 YearsAdolescent.............16 to 20 YearsYoung Adult..........20 to 30 YearsAdult......................30 to 500 YearsYoung Wyrm.........500 to 1,000 YearsWyrm.....................1,000 to 2,500 YearsGreat Wyrm..........2,500 to 5,000 YearsOld Wyrm..............5,000 to 10,000 YearsAncient...................10,000 Years and Up

On Partheus, there are ten known Elements, secondary children born of the love and devotion Kallydrana has to her mate and her original children. Each Element has its own power, and in its own right is a royalty that none can truly understand. These Elements are more than just the base of all that makes up Partheus - they are living, breathing creatures that can take many different forms. Below, you will see a brief description of each.

It is based on these descriptions that I will match a particular Element to your character. This Element will go along with the personality, abilities, and background of your character. If you desire a particular Element that is not already named, you can always PM me and design a character around that Element.

If, after your Element has been assigned, you wish to choose a different one, you may request a trade. Upon this request, you may be asked to change a few things about the character to best fit the Element. Elements are picky creatures and don't choose to befriend just anyone.

Tardas - The Circle of Bases

Earth (Ihnora) - This is one of the four very basic Elements. But keep in mind that it is the bases that are the backbone to everything else. They are not to be underestimated! Earth is the strongest, wielder of dirt, sands, and stones. Those blessed with this Element can create walls, stepping stones, shields, and much, much more. They can make the soil more or less fertile, and if strong enough, can even ask great trees to do their bidding. This Element is very mellow and stable, a good support when you need it.

Air (Thuus) - The second of the four bases, Air controls the winds that fly beneath their dragon's wings. They may find themselves caressed by a light breeze or awaken to find themselves floating above their beds. Wind is a whimsical Element, happy and free. It is harder to tame than Earth and has a lighter spirit, but its friendship is an unbreakable bond.

Fire (Xhaken) - The third and most volatile of the four bases, Fire is a life force that brings warmth and light to the world. It can burn away fears and corruption, bring back the light of memories, and chase away the cold of the night. By contrast, it can take away life, harm the world, cause devastation. It can cause death as much as it brings about life. It takes stability to maintain a bond with Fire. Unfortunately, this Element seems to enjoy choosing the most volatile of creatures.

Water (Kxara) - The cool and the cold, Water washes away what Fire burns. It soothes and relaxes, freezes and sears. This Element shifts much like Air, and though it is not as whimsical, it changes its shape to fit its environment. It is mysterious and beautiful, but it can be harsh and terrifying if the one chosen by it is not careful.

Spirit (Ynxir) - Spirit is the Element that carries the souls of all living things to their physical forms, pulls them into the Next World, and keeps them lifted during times of great duress. Spirit is the most free of all Elements, the hardest of the first Circle to control. But its bonds are the strongest. It is the leader of the Tardas Circle.

Tedra - The Circle of Life

Life (Ihkari) - Life is the breath that animates the shell containing a soul. It allows the body movement and functionality. But it is so much more than that. Life is what grows the trees and all plants that graces the surface of Partheus. It is the child of the god's Life Force, creating a cycle the flows up from the ground into the shells of all living creatures and then back down. Life is the gift that ends with Death. It is the gift that all creatures must, sooner or later, give back. This Element is easily hurt, requiring a tenderness few possess. It is a demanding Element, but it is also very giving.

Death (Ihnthar) - Death is there when Life is breathed from the shell that contains the Soul. It is there when Spirit takes the Soul back to the Next World. It is there when the body decays and becomes new Life. Though associated with evil, it is not an evil Element. In fact, it is a peaceful, serene Element. Very misunderstood.

Light (Uhdyr) - Light comes from many things. The suns, the moons, the stars...it is what lets the world be seen in all its glory. It glitters from the scales of dragons and helps many see what they could not see before. It is a lighthearted and warm Element, easy to "talk" to and befriend. But sometimes, it is hard to see through all the Darkness.

Darkness (Dhanor) - The overbearing Element of Darkness is a heavy burden to bear sometimes. But like Earth, it is a strong backbone that will always be there, lurking, but not always upfront. It is the creator of many things in the shadows, and there are a great deal that have grown accustomed to its thick cloud. It is deceitful and sly, and it loves to play tricks. But it is, like all Elements, a strong friend.

Chaos (Inortia) - The first Child of Chaos, the Goddess who became Kallydrana, this Element is completely uncontrollable. At least, that is what is believed. Chaos is the leader of the Tedra Circle.

Six months after the beginning of the role play (IC time, not RT), all three moons will be full, and the young riders will finally be able to make the special bond that will forever meld their friendship into something even more. Below is everything you need to know about this special bond. Please remember that, until then, your riders will not be able to speak to their dragons, and few will know what magic is or how it works. For an explanation on the magic of this world, please view the Aura Magic tab.

How it Works

The bond between dragon and rider, known as the Pact, is a complex linking between the souls of each creature created by Kallydrana (Also known as Onyx) in hopes of saving her children from the wrath of Varonians. This bond can only be completed during the night that all three of the moons are full, which happens only once every twenty-five years.

Harnessing the pure power that radiates from the moons, both dragon and rider must touch as Una, the smallest moon, reaches her apex, and open their minds, bodies, and souls to the pull of the goddess, Kallydrana. The process is slow and unbelievably excruciating, the heads of the pair rolling back to stare, eyes aglow with the color of their soul (which matches the color of their aura), mouths open to reveal the same light, at the moon. The beams of light cross paths in the air between dragon and rider, halting time, itself, around them. Slowly, the soul leaves the bodies of each, taking the form of what one might think of as smoke or vapor. They reach for each other, towards the area in which their light crosses, and when they finally make it to the top, they dance around each other.

At this point, the two souls are still separate. Two distinct entities with two different colors. They swirl around each other, touching and testing the other’s weaknesses and strengths, poking and prodding at every point until they are to the point of near mixing.

Upon deciding to merge, the souls “heat up,” swirling faster and faster until there is no distinction between the two, creating enough friction to allow them to merge. In a single instance in time and space, the souls create a spark bright enough to contest with the illuminating light of Una as she begins to pass her apex, merging into a single entity with an entirely different color, shape, and aura. For a brief moment, this new soul hovers above its two shells, as though taking in the power of the world for one more instance before starting its final and most dangerous task.

The next step is to once more separate. Once the souls have merged into one, the new soul must find a way to merge into the two distinctive shells. So, like before, it begins to move, creating enough friction and “heat” to split itself into two smaller versions of itself, each with an equal amount of power and weakness, balanced in every way. Once split, the two halves move back down the still separate streams of light to enter into the bodies.

The rider, who was once mortal and full of limitations, must be able to accept the strength and raw power from the soul of the dragon. The dragon, who was immortal and near limitless, must accept the frailty of the rider. Upon the acceptance of these souls, the trails of light merge into the same color as the soul, no longer clashing as two separate entities. As Una completes her apex, the light fades from the eyes and mouth of both dragon and rider, and they awaken from their lapse in time and space, whole for the first time in their lives.

Not all can complete this dire transformation, however. Though Kallydrana smiles upon those who welcome her as their Inhalla, she cannot accept all of them. Sometimes, the soul will be rejected, leaving the body as a shell to wither and die. But these souls are taken into the bosom of their Almighty Mother and laid to rest in the Heart of Industrin in peace and happiness for all eternity.

What it Affects

With a new balance between frailty and power, the Pact causes many things to change not only in the ability of both dragon and rider, but also in some of the physiology of each.

Dragon Effects

Dragons, some of which can grow to be large enough to carry an entire village upon their backs, become stunted in physical growth. No longer can even the largest of dragons grow to be larger than 25 feet long from tip to tail unless the need of the rider requires a larger dragon. Though the smaller dragons, such as the Peridot, who only gets to be 13 feet long, will grow to the maximum capability of their breed, even the mighty Ruby will be stunted to be more suitable for riding. None know of how this affects the Onyx, as there has only been a single rider who has made the Pact with such a dragon.

It is believed that only two dragons who made the Pact with a Varonian was older and larger than this limitation. Every Pact since the second ritual has been made between dragons and riders below the Adolescent stage, leaving them with enough room to grow.

Dragons with bodies made entirely or even partly of sharp scales will naturally begin the transformation to create a harmless seat at the point between the shoulders and neck. For example, Obsidian Dragons, whose sharp scales jut out at every possible point with what might appear to be flowing magma beneath, will form a spot of what might appear to be the same color and texture of basalt flexible enough for the dragon to move and harmless enough for their rider to sit.

The mind of a dragon who has made the Pact must be able to conform with that of their Varonian counterpart. They gain a great deal of control, able to fluctuate just how much power they project telepathically, and they are able to create a barrier to protect their mind from intruders, an ability unique to the Pact. However, with this gain, there is loss, and the Pacted dragon’s mind becomes frail when compared to that of a wild dragon. Though still powerful in many ways, if a Pacted dragon is not careful with their mind, it can very possibly become lost to the evil of another dragon.

With weakness comes strength. Though physically stunted, the dragon gains speed and dexterity, both on the ground and in the air; defense, their scales thickening to allow for a greater amount of hits compared to those without a rider; and a heightened form of protective magic. The magic will be explained in greater detail in the magic section of this missive.

Varonian Effects

Riders begin the transformation into a lightweight structure that can handle extreme heights and temperatures. Their bones become strong and lightweight with denser bone marrow, allowing for a higher production of white blood cells, their lungs able to quickly and efficiently take in and separate oxygen from what the body considers to be toxins while red blood cells gain the ability to more efficiently absorb oxygen from the lungs. The body temperature rises to over 100° F (38° C), having to work harder to keep all organs running properly.

Like the mind of a dragon, that of the rider must change and grow to accept the new telepathic abilities of the counterpart. It is no longer so weak that it risks being torn apart when the dragon speaks telepathically. It is able to stretch out and feel for other minds like a dragon, speak all known languages mentally like a dragon, and even potentially cause harm like a dragon. The rider also gains the barrier ability unique to the Pact, allowing them to shield themselves from intruders - this can include their own dragon. However, like all abilities, the rider must train to gain a greater control.

Still, the rider is frail and easily crushed. Like the dragon, the rider gains speed and dexterity, especially on the ground, typically double that of a non-rider humanoid, as well as strength, which can be gained up to three times the amount of another humanoid. However, unlike the dragon, the rider cannot gain armor, and must either wear armor or risk the wrath of mortal weapons. For most humanoids, magic has not yet been taught, but the Pact unlocks the full potential of the rider, even those who have been trained. Riders typically gain a heightened use of offensive magic. The magic will be explained in greater detail in the magic section of this missive.

The Aura & Aura Magic

The Aura

The Aura, as we know it to be, is a mystical field of energy that surrounds a human being that relates to a specific color that, typically, matches their mood or mental state. On Partheus, this theory goes a little farther.

The Aura on Partheus is the external manifestation of the soul. This field of energy is a direct projection through the shell, or body, of the essence and power of the internal soul, reflecting in a mix of colors the emotion, mental state, and raw base of the creature’s very being. It is not only a Varonian trait, but the trait of every living thing in the world, even the grass. However, few can actually see this manifestation, as it requires the natural-born talent to do so. Those who have this talent can learn to understand who a person is just through their Aura.

However, the Aura has a very special factor on Partheus. Simply put, this factor is known as Aura Magic.

Aura Magic

Aura Magic is the power that the soul maintains within and around the shell that contains it. It is the basic power of all living creatures, and it can vary from practically no power to the power of a dragon. All living creatures have some form of Aura Magic, but many humanoids have an internal fear of its use, and thus, it is locked away forever.

How it Works

For those who choose to use it, be they animal, human, or even plant, the Aura can be a powerful thing. It can move and twist, expand and retract, becoming a weapon or a shield or a useful tool. With a single word or even thought, it can create or call upon fire, create a bubble of air, or lash out like a sword. All one needs to do is learn. However, like a fingerprint, no two Auras are the same. While they may share similarities, such as basic power over fire or air or earth or water, they will be very different in more advanced uses. Using basic spells to create a campfire and actually calling on the Element, Fire, are two very different things. Both Auras might be able to create a campfire, but only one can do so by asking the Element, itself, to light the fire.

Element calling is actually very rare in Varonians, only one in every thousand born blessed with the natural talent to do so. It is ever-rarer to see a Varonian blessed with two elements. But the Elements are only one thing the Aura can do. Aura Magic creates a long list of great feats a creature can do. Some can even gain the talent to do something as creating a shield around them with only a single thought.

The study of Aura Magic is a long process. While an elf can learn it in fifty years without the aide of a dragon, a Varonian must study their entire lives to unlock the secrets of their own Aura. Dwarves, gnomes, and other humanoid races vary depending on the individual. However, making the Pact with a dragon greatly affects this process. After all, Aura Magic comes as second nature to a dragon, and thus, the learning of the magic is greatly reduced for the humanoid when the Pact is made. However, this also comes at a cost to the dragon, who now must learn and uncover the secrets lost in their own Aura, their minds now weakened with the frailty of their humanoid.

The Basics

Every living creature on Partheus is the manifestation of Magic. Their very cores - their souls - are created completely of it. So, it's only right that these creatures are able to utilize this in their own unique ways. And because the soul, itself, is so strong that it can show itself outside of the shell without actually leaving it is only the beginning of the proof behind how powerful it can be.

There are four core types of Aura Magic that can be used, each having its own little branches. Within these core types, the possibilities are endless. All one must do is think of what they want, and they can do it with the help of their internal magic source. The dragons and their riders will each be learning the basics of these four types before branching out to do their own thing.

Offensive Magic uses the most soul energy and deteriorates the fastest. It is used for destruction - to cause harm or to scare something away. Basic spells can include creating fire, magic missiles, or poison touch.

Healing Magic is the second-most draining of the four core magics. It is used to heal wounds and bring back what once was. Basic spells include healing touch, restoration, and cleanse.

Illusion Magic is the third-most draining, but if one is not careful, it can become even more draining than Offensive Magic. Depending on the illusion, itself, this magic requires the most concentration and the clearest picture in the mind of that who wishes to cast it. This core magic creates false images to trick the minds of those it focuses on. Basic spells include project image, ghost sound, and hypnotic pattern.

Protective Magic is the least draining of the four core magic types under most circumstances, but like Illusion, it requires a great deal of concentration. This magic is used to protect and defend, building shields and barriers to keep safe those that are special. Basic spells include shield, reflect, and ward.

Magical Energy - Mana for short - is how much a creature's soul can use itself up before withering away. Every creature on Partheus has its own limits to how much magic it can use. If it uses too much, the shell can become unconscious, and even more will kill it and - in this case, the dragon as well.

Pacted Dragons

Dragons who have made the Pact with a Varonian (or some counterpart) have a greater sense of Protective Magic. This form of magic comes much easier to Pacted Dragons than any other type of magic. Dragons who have made the Pact have a more innate sense of creating a shield around themselves and their other halves. Pacted Dragons have the ability to create barriers with little focus or effort upon making the sacred bond, and these barriers that can be created and dropped at will only grow stronger as the dragon works on that particular skill.

Like all abilities, however, Protective Magic still requires training for Pacted Dragons. It just doesn't require as much training, thought, or concentration as the other three branches.

This is also the source of the mental shield that is wrapped around both dragon and Varonian minds after making the Pact. This mental barrier allows an instinctive form of protection that can be manipulated not only by the dragon, but also by its Varonian counterpart. This allows for protection not only from enemies, but also from each other if the need arises. This can protect both dragon and rider from serious harm if the other has been injured in any way, as both dragon and rider feel the pain of an injury, no matter who it is derived from.

Pacted Varonians

Opposite to their dragons, Varonians who have made the Pact seem to have a knack for Offensive Magic. This may have something to do with the more volatile temperaments known in the Varonian hearts.

Like their dragons with Protective Magic, Varonians seem to be able to rely upon Offensive Magic with greater ease after the Pact than even some dragons who are without the Pact. Their minds seem to have a greater focus on spells that are called to do harm, and it takes less concentration to learn such things. It also seems to demand less of their Aura. Varonians who have made the Pact with a dragon will quite easily find themselves more keen to this magic than other magic types, and it will come to them much more naturally. However, it still must be learned and mastered.

It is due to this that Varonians often learn Offensive magic after other types of magic to gain a better control over themselves before being subjected to a freer form. Those who are not taught other types of magic before learning Offensive Magic often find themselves with great consequences.

Elements

Unlike other forms of Magic, Elements are living creatures all their own. Though not necessarily corporeal, they live and breathe just like any other creature of Partheus. Unlike other creatures, they are made entirely of the power of the goddess, Kallydrana. Each Element is in charge over certain aspects of the world, itself. The temperament of that Element can determine the success of its charges at any point in time.

Every so often, each Element finds itself in need of a friend. In that desire to have friendship with other creatures, the Element can bless another with some of its power and the ability to call upon the Element, itself, in times of need. Unlike the other types of Magic, this draws from both the Element and that who has been blessed. Instead of training in specific skills like other types of Magic, the user must instead gain a greater friendship with the Element. Each one who is chosen to befriend a specific Element must learn how to speak to it, nurture it, and learn from it. Over time, the abilities will get better with the teachings of the Element, itself.

This is not something that dragons or any other race is better at. While dragons are chosen by Elements much more often than Varonians, those chosen stand an equal chance of gaining friendship with that Element. It's all a matter of perseverance.

Kabola, first of the three continents of Partheus, is the largest and least advanced continent with Varonians ruling as tyrant leaders over the dragons. Having been through the Great War between Varonians and Dragons, which lasted nearly a century, Kabola is well known as the continent on which dragons remain hidden and dormant. The land, itself, is filled with fertile fields and plains as well as raging mountains that stretch down the western side and reach for the North-East to the Temple of the White Woman. The largest of the plains, known as the Plains of Varon, is completely inhabited by Varonians, who have built many farms, villages, and even towns across the great soils. The Varonians have adapted well enough to fight against the harsh winds and blinding rains of the plains, and some farmers have even been able to maintain great orchards that are large enough to build cities with. The continent only contains one forest, the Verian Forest, which is heavily protected by the Dalin Elves and the Emerald Dragons. There is also the Black Bog, which contains nothing but Black Dragons in their natural habitat. Beneath the two mountain ranges reside the Myzra Elves and the Thortoni Dwarves. The greatest and most noticeable landmark is the lake that takes most of the space behind the two mountain ranges known as Lake Waconiba. In the center is Silver Tail Island, the home of the Silver Haired Rider.

The actual size of the continent is somewhat hard to interpret. However, to give a basic description to the general length of travel, one would have to ride a Syntiba (which can run at maximum speed of 60 mph with average speed of 45 mph) for two months straight from Gareth to the mountain town of Lortania. Due to this, there is a sort of train station set up using great beasts called Bendrines. These creatures can carry anywhere from 20 to 70 people at a time (depending on the size of the beast) as well as shipments of basic supplies from town to town, farm to farm, at an average speed of 250 mph, greatly lessening the trip time.

Of the 67% of Partheus’s water, Kabola contains approximately 3% fresh water within the continent in the lake as well as all rivers. Of the 33% of land on Partheus, Kabola takes up approximately 12%, stretching to be much larger than the other two continents. To Varonian residents of this continent, the land is known as the Mainland, while they refer to the planet as Kabola, perhaps because they do not know that there are other lands in the sea.

I take absolutely no credit for these beautiful images. All credit goes to their due artists, who I cannot find.

Silver Tail Island, though small when compared to the rest of Kabola, is an island large enough to hold two of the continent's largest mountains atop it as well as the entire Silver Dragon Family beneath it. Hundreds of full grown dragons were able to comfortably live and raise their young on this island, and though the family lived in two different lairs, all woven into the stony ground beneath each of the mountains, they were all one Family. The landscape is rough in most parts, covered with sharp mountains of varying sizes and spikes that reach for the skies almost angrily, providing the perfect flight training for young dragons. In certain areas, these spiked growths give way to full connections that stretch over deep canyons filled with bio-luminescent fungi and steep ledges.

In other areas, there are only hills covered with thick, dense forests the almost completely block out the light from the suns or moons. On the floor of the thick wood are the same bio-luminescent fungi left with decaying plants which don't get enough sun. Various wildlife live within these forests, able to eat and digest much of those which live on the ground beneath the canopies. This life is the source of a dragon's diet, and it was plentiful enough many years ago to feed the entire Silver Family every day. Now, it is almost overflowing with the population of such creatures.

The second lair built by the Silver Dragons has since fallen to ruin, the stone unable to bear the weight of the mountain above. However, the lair that remains intact is that which is home to the only dragon riders in the known world.

Silver Lair Main Entrance (Above Ground)

Silver Lair Underwater Entrance

Silver Lair Emergency Exit (Underwater)

Allara’s Resting Place

Badova Village(Move your mouse to reveal the content)Badova Village (open)Badova Village (close)

Badova Village - The Village of the Moons
Nestled on the very edge of the Serana Desert, where the cold, harsh winds flow from the wintery North where the Temple of the White Woman resides is a small village of hardy folk who have learned to live off the land. Living so close to elves and dragons, of course, has taught them to respect the land they have been given, and the light of the three moons that guides many to them is the light that they have come to revere.

When the village was first built within the valley of two large mountains in the Thruskor Mountain Range, the Serana Desert was still known as the Yrian Wood, a bountiful woodland of both coniferous and deciduous trees. The elves that had resided there with brilliant Green Dragons were much like the Dalin. At this time, the City of Ranas was still the ruler of the North, and the Kallydran Priestesses would oftentimes visit to see how the people of Badova Village faired. They had built a wondrous temple on the opposite mountain that a Temple of Partheus sat upon, its gray and silver stone a cool opposite to the warm, sandy stone of the natural temple. For many years, these temples were known as the Temples of the Sun and Moon. Many Moonstone Dragons would rest upon the gray stone of the Temple of the Moon, and sometimes a Sunstone would be seen sunning himself upon the Temple of the Sun. For a long time, many different peoples would make a pilgrimage to this village to seek enlightenment from the Temple of the Moon in hopes of being granted entry to the Temple of the Sun.

Every century, opposite the time that the three moons of Partheus would be full, all moons would disappear from the skies for three nights. It was during this time that the village would have a celebration, simply known as the New Moon Celebration. At this time of year, the winds of the North would be coldest, and the mountains would not be able to protect the village from the harsh winter snows. To keep spirits high, a Kallydran Priestess would visit for these three days with a brilliant, onyx-colored Kallydran Dragon in tow, and the entire village would celebrate the delight of Ova and Badeceri, the goddess and god of the Suns and Moons, in hopes of making Badeceri happy again so that he would once again bring back the light of the moons. The Temple of the Moon would be lit with the power of the Element, Light, and the Moonstone Dragons would dance in the skies. Some say it was the dancing of these dragons that brought about the strange Moon Lights, as they were called, ribbons of green, blue, and violet that would light the skies when no moon was full. On the third night, just before the moons returned to their full glory, the great Kallydran Dragon who had visited the village to see the Moonstones dance would light a brilliant silver fire at the very heart of the village to bring warmth, joy, and peace to the hearts of all its inhabitants. It was the light of the temple and the dancing Moonstone Dragons that would help those who continued to make the pilgrimage to the village make it through the harsh Northern weather and the beating rhythm and warmth of that silver fire that would allow many to find and continue to keep peace in their hearts for generations to come.

When the Yrian Wood burned to the ground and all life along with it, many believed that Badova Village had gone as well. But many of the people of the village would seek sanctuary within the Temples of the Sun and Moon. And when the fires fell away and the sands drifted in from the East to take over the ashes that remained, they once more came out and began rebuilding. For many years, they were ridiculed by the Zintiva, who blamed them for the destruction that mankind had wrought. But after the elves realized that these humans were not like the others, they created a treaty that would allow the village to remain nestled between the two mountains, beneath the protection of the Elements as well as the Elves that dwelled within the hard land that Zin had provided.

The dragons would never dance again. The lights would not shine from the Temple of the Moon...and the Temple of the Sun would remain untouched for centuries to come. As the war laid waste to the outside world, humans in search for a miracle or a legend would make a pilgrimage to the secret village, where they would live out the rest of their days. Guided by the Northern Lights, any who needed sanctuary could find the lowly village. For a thousand years, it has remained like this.

The village, itself, is made of simple buildings carved from gray stone. They sit clumped together with narrow roads and simple designs. At the very center of this small clump of buildings is a large and magnificent fountain carved from gray and black stone to depict two large Kallydran Dragons reaching towards the skies. Resting on their outstretched talons is a torch-like construct, within which a silver flame used to burn brightly during the three darkest nights of the century. From these two dragons who hold the torch, many shapes of both Sunstone and Moonstone Dragons - both of which are highly revered - dance outward, their maws open for the natural spring water to pour out, warm and steaming despite the constant cold. Outside the main part of the village, where more have spread, are simple huts of animal skins and long bones. A small, simple orchard it kept farther south in the only fertile section left. This is also where food is grown. What cannot be grown is hunted, particularly mountain goat, kuelo, and other various small animals. It remains a legend to this day, whispered on the lips of men...what happens when humans get too close to compassion. But it also remains a dream for those who wish to find just that... a little compassion.

The city of travelers, some call it. Wandering souls who never find soil to call their own. For others, it is the city of fire and smelted iron, rock and stone from centuries spent digging into the fertile soils of the Plains of Varon. Pavire is a city of sprawling buildings, built low and long to better withstand the harsh winds that often plague the plains, particularly so far inland. It sprawls so far, in fact, that it touches the tips of two distinct rivers and a small lake. Over the years, it has grown with more and more wandering souls deciding it best to stay.

In Pavire, the art of the blacksmith and the mason are most often seen. Many men and even women have often shown a great talent, and some even become the builders of great walls and architects to design the next building to be shown off within the many fine districts of Gareth. Others build the hundreds of iron and steel swords found on the hips of the greatest Varonian soldiers. The greatest of jewels found in the Mainland, besides those found from the waters claimed by Port Syren, come from the many lands of Pavire.

The only thing better than these arts in this city is the market. The only part of the city with actual walls is the very center, known only as the Central Trade Hub (though some of the more posh merchants like to call it the "Grand Exchange"), a massive market-area large enough to fit a hundred Bendrines at one time atop all of the thousands of market stalls placed for the use of merchants to place their goods. This hub allows all places within the Plains of Varon to stay in contact and certain areas to gather precious materials otherwise out of reach.

In Pavire, if you are not an artisan or a merchant, the only other thing to do in order to become well-known is to train Bendrines, the massive creatures used for human and goods transportation. Like any herd animal, these creatures require a great deal of compassion and care. Unlike most herd animals, however, Bendrines are equipped with sharp claws and teeth, easily able to kill a man even at the size they are as younglings. However, those who are bold enough to train these creatures rack up quite the profit - if they survive it.

Those who settle in Pavire often resort to farming, however, to keep the city well-nourished at all times. Simple crafts can be picked up by future generations, and sooner or later, a family that was once nothing more than settlers can become well-known artisans or even merchants. In Pavire, anything is possible. It is very easy to dream.

Unlike many cities and towns found throughout the Plains of Varon, Lortania has its own structure and government system that works in conjunction to the laws that have been placed by the rulers of Gareth. In this haven of farmers, merchants, and trainers, there is a ruling family known as the Mountain Royalty. This family lives within the massive wooden mansion built over six hundred years ago by the Mhoria line. Settling to farm the crops that only grew in the harsh lands of the North, this family created a haven world that only the hardy could remain in.

For many generations, the Mhoria line ruled supreme, and everyone always rejoiced when a new Mountain Prince was born. Sadly, only two generations ago, the last of the Mhoria name perished after marrying beneath the name of Khumar. Since then, Khumar has been known as the Mountain Royalty, their Mountain Prince a boy by the name of Theolyn.

Even this, however, has fallen away to tragedy. Now, Lortania is on the brink of disaster, the entirety of the Mountain Haven broken up into separate lines to see who will hold the title of Kind of the North.

In Lortania, men are the hard workers, breaking their backs in the harsh cold of the Northern summers to sow their fields and plant the seeds that bring them foods considered delicacies across the Plains. Women, by contrast, are the trainers and the merchants. They raise the animals, care for them, train them, and sell them along with the crops grown by their husbands, fathers, and brothers. Women are considered equal to men in every way and treated with a great deal of respect and even reverence, for they do as much work as men while also bearing children and keeping the hearth warm and tidy.

Sometimes, young men and women break away from their families to become healers and medical practitioners. Others go off to a life of the travelling merchant. None, however, will share the secrets to Lortania's great prosperity. Outsiders often wonder if the city is run on the forbidden magicks of dragons. Of course, this is all nothing more than silly rumors.

To most traveling merchants and almost every Varonian that has never been there, this beautiful ocean-side city is known as Port Syren. However, it has many names - five different ones, to be exact - not including the name given to it by merchants. Each name was given to the city by a different “founding” family.

Two centuries ago, five families traveled to the side of what is now known as Siren’s Bay, which opens up to what the Varonians on Kabola believe is endless seas. It was around this bay that the families settled, built their own homes, and began their own trade. Each family had their own purpose, and though none of them really liked the other, they would often trade amongst themselves to keep supplies in good order. As their homes became villas and their villas became villages, the five families found themselves merging into a single town. As this happened, traveling merchants began to hear about the wonderful trade hub and made their way down.

Upon coming to the now merged town, many realized the trouble that loomed within the divided space. At some point in history, the name, Port Syren - named after Siren’s Bay - was born. Most merchants - at least those that frequent the city - have made alliances with a certain family. Those born within the family must remain in the city - women marry for treaties with other families, and men run the house. Merchants know to stay out of the politics of it all.

Some, however, have managed to get on the good side of every family...but it takes a great deal of time and skill to do this. In Port Syren, though it is known as the Trader’s Sanctuary, merchants must step lightly or risk losing everything.

It is rare to hear of a merchant settling in Port Syren, but this has happened in the past, ofentimes bringing along their own family - or establishing themselves within one of the five original families (often without the permission of that family). The family members that decide to marry outside of duty are disowned by their family and treated like garbage by the rest of the residents within the city - at least those that are not recent settlers. It is just as rare to see these family members actually leave the city, but like merchants settling, this has happened in the past.

Taval(Move your mouse to reveal the content)Taval (open)Taval (close)

Taval - The City of Dreams

This city, though not well known for its beautiful outside landscape or spectacular natural occurrences, is highly recommended for any Varonian in need of a vacation. With beautiful, tall buildings and pubs on every corner, this city reaches almost as high into the sky as the mountainous city of Gareth. With whitewashed buildings and the clean, fresh air that one can get at the highest points of the city, many find this to be the best spot to rest and relax.

What isn’t mentioned, however, is the dim, dark streets found at the very bottom of this guardless scape. The streets are mud and sewage, the filtering system that takes the stink away from the higher points of Taval. Every corner, alleyway, and dark part of the street is filled with all types of criminals - from thieves to rapists to murderous scum. Those who are unfortunate enough to live in the Unmentioned - the lower part of the city - know to stay in their homes or risk being hurt or even killed. Those who are stupid enough to travel down that way typically do not make it back out.

The city is known very well to be the go-to place for vacationing Tarjan Army soldiers, who enjoy the time off duty and are known to be the rowdiest groups that filter through. All men - and even some women - from the Tarjan Army oftentimes spend much of their time destroying property and spending all of their in-pocket money on any whore they can find. They can be bullies, as they know good and well that they can get away with it.

However, on the sidelines, an underground operation simply known as the Weyrborn has begun to take hold of the city. With minor missions - such as tricking Tarjan soldiers to leave, cleaning the lower streets of criminals, and even stealing from the wealthy to give to the poor - taking place on nearly a nightly basis, this city might just become the City of Dreams once more.

If you wish your character to come from a different city or culture, please mention this to me via PM with ideas on what you would like your character's background to be like. We can easily create another village, town, or city in the Plains of Varon, and it will be added to the map.

Character Sheet

RIDER
Name
Age
Gender
Place of Origin(Name a City in the Plains of Varon - When doing history, please ask questions about lore of the city if it's named on the map - Gareth is the biggest one I'm worried about, so it shouldn't be too big a sweat. ^^ - YOU CAN ALSO MAKE UP YOUR OWN CITY/TOWN/VILLAGE)

Height
Weight
Hair
Eyes
Appearance

Personality(Give 5 Words and Explain Each)

Skills & Abilities(Create up to TWOunique magical abilities to be cleared by me and unlocked by the character later (EMPHASIS ON THE LATER PART) - abilities linked to the dragon. NOTE THAT ALL ELEMENTS ARE ASSIGNED BY ME - DO NOT PUT ELEMENTAL ABILITIES WITHOUT FIRST CONSULTING ME ABOUT WHAT ELEMENT YOU ARE TO RECEIVE. Other skills, such as weapon skills, etc. are to be put here.)

Strengths
Weaknesses(Be sure to balance out the skills/abilities as well)

Brief History

Relationships(Put the name, the relationship (mother, brother, friend, etc.), and the age and location if applicable as well as a brief description. This can also be of characters that will be in the story - be sure to ask your fellow players!)

DRAGON
Name
Gender
Appearance(Write out the appearance of the dragon as a baby, juvenile, and adult – there will be a lot of growing through this RP - ALSO, no dragon will be able to grow longer than 25 feet, which is explained in "The Pact" tab of this information missive.)

Personality(Again, 5 words and explain each)

Abilities(Unique to the dragon – should be roughly the same as rider abilities - dragons are given the same Elements as the riders)

⚔First & Foremost⚔
ALL IWAKU RULES APPLY HERE - YOU WILL BE REPORTED IF YOU BREAK THEM

⚔General Role Play & Character Development⚔✴1✴Character Creation
Each character set is a pair, both a Varonian (essentially, human) and a dragon of your choosing (from the list provided – if you don’t find one you like, feel free to PM me). The Varonian must be between the ages of 18 and 30, and all dragons are the same age (starting at a year and a half at the beginning of the RP).

Upon creation, please PM me the character sheet first, which we will then go over together. Once accepted, I’ll ask you to post it in the Sign-Ups thread, and I will also add it to the list of accepted characters. Do remember, always, that when creating a character (or in our sense, a pair), BALANCEis absolutely essential. Be thorough in your chars’ abilities, strengths, and weaknesses.

✴2✴Posting Expectations
I do my very best not to be nitpicky with posts, but I do expect that when a player posts in the IC, they post a minimum of two small paragraphs (we’ll say a 15 sentence minimum – no, this doesn’t mean I’m actually counting sentences) with good grammar (know the difference between your and you’re, to, two, and too, there and their, etc.), and the understanding that in order for others to react, they must know your character is speaking or doing something with theirs.

For dialogue and internal thoughts, please be sure to keep them separated – dialogue in “quotation marks,”thoughts in italics, and any kind of mindspeak (speaking mentally with dragons) both in italics and surrounded by ~wavy line thingies.~

Finally, to keep over-posting from happening, you may only post in the IC after two other people have posted after your last post. If your char is having a more private interaction with one or two other chars, do so in a collaboration (if you don’t know what that is, please ask – if enough people ask, I’ll explain it and keep the explanation in the information thread) and post that collab in the IC.

✴3✴Inactivity
We’ve had a rough time with player inactivity. Due to my own RT, I’ve had a lot of issues keeping us on a schedule. However, if we get enough players going to where we can have enough posts for a schedule, I will expect a post once per week at the very least. Please note that, if possible, my next GM post (schedule to be updated bi-weekly) will continue everyone in the group, even if it means you get left behind and have to play catch up. This system will continue until we are able to establish a better, more effective one.

✴4✴Overpowering
I am one of those GMs that does not deal with anyone godmodding or powerplaying other player characters. You as the player are expected to play to your characters’ strengths AND weaknesses. First offense will grant a warning. Any other will result in the untimely death of your chars…period.

I as GM also reserve the right to storytell a necessary char who has locked other players into a corner due to inactivity for an extended period of time. This will only be done if necessary.

⚔Miscellaneous⚔✵1✵Character Archetypes
Yes, we all know that humans are boring. No one in fantasy likes to play just a human. But here’s my thing – humans are a necessity in this RP. They are the only ones malleable enough to do what this story needs. Will you later be able to play one of my other races? If you are able to stick to your varonian long enough in the RP that I deem it necessary, yes…but your other char will not get a dragon. They will not make the Pact. They will be more of a guide.

However, possible anti-heroes are allowed! If we get enough, we may even have a whole side-story where they all have to fight each other to get the anti-heroes to see that the world is going to end if they’re not all on the same side. That would be interesting, yes? You want a char that’s not a goody-two-shoes? FINE BY ME! Just go over it with me first.

✵2✵Dragon Design
You are playing baby dragons at the start, meaning they are not the best of fighters, and they certainly do not know how to fly just yet! However, they do know about the world, the gods (particularly their Inhalla), and their mission. So long as you keep to the basics of the dragon breed you chose, feel free to customize. I’m not saying you can make a yellow Ruby Dragon…but I am saying that this Ruby Dragon can have a unique twist to its breath weapon, its appearance, or its personality. Choose the breed you want because you like the design of that breed…then add your own little quirks.

✵3✵Rider Essentials
While I’m good with all sorts of character archetypes, I’d like to lay a few ground rules with the riders. First, at the very beginning, they follow the rest of the group, and they remain with them after making the Pact. You can give them some internal battle or whatever, but at least for the first few months IC, your chars will be with the rest of the group.

At the very beginning, these chars have never INTENTIONALLY used magic. This means that the abilities granted to them in the char sheet are for future use! You can mention in the bio that they’ve accidentally used some of their power before, but have never gotten a grasp on how to duplicate it on command.

✵4✵OOC Responsibility
I want us all to become friends, which is why I opened the OOC. There, I would greatly love to see my lovely players chatting. It could be about the world, or about nothing in general. All I ask is that you are respectful to each other and to myself.

I also ask not to mention any sensitive topics in the OOC, such as politics and religion. I’d like to keep everyone happy with each other, if at all possible. ^^ You are not obligated to speak, however. Just be sure that if you plan to disappear for a few days or more to let us know in the OOC, and watch out for any of my updates. Most importantly, if you have ANY questions, always feel free to ask me!

⚔Finally⚔
I want to personally thank all of you who have stuck with me thus far. And I want to thank anyone taking the time to read through all of this and deciding that this RP is worth the trouble! I look forward to enjoying this story with you all. And I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!​

The main character of the Kabola Trilogy, Aki is the daughter of former Dragon Tamer, Peter Lyrial and his wife, Laurana Lyrial. Upon their deaths, the young child was adopted and saved by Allara, the last Kallydran Dragon in existence, upon which she was taken to Silver Tail Island and raised with Allara's blood-daughter, Xaria. At the age of seven, Aki made the Pact with Xaria, and the two have been inseparable since then.

Aki has a destiny that she cannot escape, no matter how hard she tries. Her hatred for her own kind has burned deep within her for many years, and despite the fact that she travels with Mauras - and has been for ten years - she still carries that hatred like a shadow looming overhead.

Aki is not meant to lead an army, nor is she meant to stay in the story forever. She is meant only to save and train the new dragon riders before going back to her own destiny and returning only at the end to fulfill the end of her path.
​

Mauras Tudor is the mysterious man whose emotions show in the color of his eyes. He is typically very reserved and withdrawn from everyone else, but his anger can oftentimes get the better of him, creating a very fiery outburst if not careful. Having been adopted as a friend and ward by Xanras, a High Dragon from the Northern Mountains (as he calls them), at a young age, Mauras knows very little of Varonians and prefers the company of dragons, fearing for his own outbursts doing harm as they had done so long ago.

His destiny is intertwined with Aki's, as he is meant to sprout the seed of love that is in her heart and open her up to her fate by the end of her path. While he is a little unorthodox in the way he treats her at times, he has come to care very deeply for her and shows it in the way he supports her judgments and the small glances he steals every now and then. Also like Aki, he will not remain with the group for very long, continuing his own journey alongside his main companion.​

Neroth'na and Talthoros have always been oddities - no matter the world they are in. They are the guides to keep the story moving forward, the comedians to give a good laugh in the most serious of times, and the direct connections to Kallydrana when absolutely needed. While Talthoros cannot communicate to anyone but Nero, his vocals limited to nothing more than a series of squeaks, he is quite the talker and will let one know when he disapproves. Like a dragon and rider, Nero and Tal have a special bond that is much like the Pact, allowing them to communicate with each other, and though Nero is almost always flying, the few moments he is not, he is most likely seen sitting upon Tal's head between his antennae.

Nero is what is known as a Pseudodragon - while none truly know of his origins, he is believed to be the product of the extremely rare mixing of a dragon and a couatl, the legendary metallic serpents that almost never grace the skies with their presence. Around his neck, he always carries a little lantern. And within this lantern sits a tiny blue light - a wisp. This wisp grants Nero power that would otherwise be impossible, and while many have tried to use the wisp against the tiny dragon, none can bear this power as Nero can. Nero is granted with the direct connection to Kallydrana - Inhalla, as he calls her. It is this connection mixed with the power of the wisp that allows him to keep the story going.

His main base of operations during this particular story will remain a separate room in the Silver Lair, resting near the emergency exit off to the side and almost completely unseen. The room, itself, is very simple - round and flat with a few printed images from different worlds and a pit filled with purple jelly for Tal. In the very center is a pedestal twice as large and relatively the same shape as the typical birdbath. This pedestal is filled in the bowl with various-colored stones that oddly resemble the scales of dragons. But what is most odd about this is strange, star-filled black flame that floats just above these stones, seemingly using them for fuel without touching them. Few know what this flame is for, but if one is lucky - or needy - enough, Nero might just show a bit of what it can do.
​

Height
5 Ft 4 InWeight
135 lbsHair
Calina’s hair is as red as the sunset with streaks of gold, lighter shades of orange, even blonde running through it. Her hair flows in waves down to her waistEyes
GreenAppearance:
Calina often draws the eyes of many a man due to her beauty. The combination of vivid red hair contrasted by her green eyes is rather uncommon. Not many can pull that look off, but Calina can. She is short in stature and small in weight; this often comes to her advantage as she is able to move quicker than most. She loved to dress up as a kid, so she would play ‘elf’ (hence the fake elf ears) when she was little much to the annoyance of her family…..

Personality:

Smart | Cunning | Focused
Having lived in the merchant town for the majority of her life, Cal had to be smart. She had to learn how to tell when someone was ripping her off. She learned how to tell when people were lying to her, and actually became quite a good liar herself. When she has a task to do, she focuses in on that task. When Kilyria hatched for her when she was out trying to escape her little world, she was awestruck. How could such a creature choose her? But she quickly shoved that feeling down and focused on the task at hand: escaping her hell that was Port Syren.

Sassy | Witty | Fiery
Calina is probably the sassiest 18 year old out there. She dishes out sarcasm like ice cream, and can take it right back with a laugh. However, this young redhead has a fiery temper, and you do not want to mess with her. If you get her angry (which is more difficult than it used to be), you better watch out because she will rip your head off, figuratively speaking. If you mock her, especially for her age, she won’t forgive it easily.

Caring | Loyal | Stoic
Opposites do seem to be apparent in this statement. In Calina’s case, however, they describe her very well indeed. She does indeed have a good heart, she cares for others more than you would catch on. She loves everything living. She has a keen respect for life, more so when Kilyria came into her life. She is still stoic from her past in Port Syren. In her past, Calina (or Cal to her friends) was cold and ruthless. Her family had been so controlling, and she was forced to put on a stoic face that never really came off. Most people still see her as cold, ruthless and without a heart. Sometimes, if upset enough, she returns to that stage where she just doesn't care about anyone, only about her and Ki's survival. Finding that silver egg literally changed her for the better….She is now a faithful friend, once you work hard to earn her friendship since it’s not easily gained.

Insecure | Damaged | Untrusting
When her beloved, Joshua, was murdered, a big chunk of Calina’s heart died as well. She has never truly been the same. She doesn’t trust anyone, for fear of having that trust ripped away and breaking her heart once more. She doesn’t let on, but she really is very insecure, second guessing everything.
She has never fully gotten past Joshua’s death, though Kilyria has helped a lot. Whenever she feels scared, sad, depressed, or any emotion really, she runs to her and just hugs her. She finds peace in her dragon. Now rougly about 8 feet long, Ki nuzzles close to her companion, wrapping her head around her shoulders and resting her head on Cal's chest. Cal finds this position very comforting and has spent many a night in this position, clinging to her only friend in this world.

Child-Adult Transition Cal is right on that edge of adulthood. So we will see a little mix between childish behavior and adult behavior as she figures out who she is.

Skills and Abilities​

~~Water Manipulation~~Cal has always had some sort of fascination with water...mainly rain and snow. They whisper to her. They always have, ever since she was a little girl. When Kilyria came into her life, it's louder and clearer. She's recently started to try and talk back. With time, she will be able to control the rain, and water, and even summon it. She is also able to control the heat in her surroundings. If you needed boiling water, she would be able to boil it within seconds.~~Empath~~Calina has always had a hit on observance of how people are feeling. She can't read minds, more like their mood. She can't control it yet. Right now she can't tell which feeling is from what person if there's a lot of people around her. But with training and honing, she will be able to distinguish the moods from each person distinctly.The one she can always tell apart is her dragon: Kilyria.​

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Strengths​

Lying:​

Calina, in her line of work, has become quite good at telling when people are lying to her. She can read them fairly well, including body language, tone of voice, language, ect. In this act, she has also become a decent liar when she needs to as well.
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Negotiating:​

Obviously being a merchant's daughter, she has learned the skills needed to negotiate. She knows when people are ripping her off, and how to get them to lower their standards to where she sees fit.
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Independence:​

Being on her own for several years, Cal knows how to survive depending only on herself. It wasn't until fairly recently that she worked with someone else, and that wasn't even really that much of depending on Cora as it was using her.​

Beast taming:

Cal's parents tamed two beasts in the sea: the Scylla. The Scylla is a form of shark, it has a long neck that is capable of twisting and catching prey out of the air. Scylla meat is often considered a delicacy, served only to the rich. Cal has had her fair share of Scylla meat, and doesn't care for it.

Furthermore, by learning the habits of the Scylla, Cal has learned how to calm them down. She's taken to putting that skill to use on other animal, feral dogs in town, big game when out hunting, she knows the body language of the creatures, and can portray herself as not being a threat.

Cal has picked up the skills of her trade, so if they come across an aggressive Scylla, she can predict it's movements and actions, giving them an advantage.
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Doer/Work Ethic:​

She's one of those people who does what needs to be done without complaining. Whether it be dirty work, or something she does every day. If someone needs to be warned/threatened, she will do it. If someone needs to be fed and nurtured she will do it. She doesn't care about what the job is, just that something needs doing. When she finds something to do, she does it to the best of her ability.

Weaknesses​

Age:​

People rarely take her seriously. They don't think she's old enough to know anything of value. They would see her as a child, as someone who doesn't know how the world works. It truly makes her mad when people think she doesn't know what it means to be an adult. (Which is partially true, actually)​

Lying:​

Cal has become so accustomed to lying when it suited her needs, to get what she wants, it has become her default. She doesn't like to trust people with the truth unless they earn it.
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Combat:​

Calina has had no use for any sort of combat skill whatsoever in her past. Of course she's learned the basic self defense, but that's mainly just escaping from someones grip and then fleeing. She's practically useless in a fight until she's trained. She is interested in learning, but she doesn't really have the means since she's constantly on the move trying to keep Ki hidden.

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Fear:​

Having been hurt by so many for so many years, Calina grew up being told that she would never amount to anything unless she obeyed. She would be useless unless she married the man who would make life easier for the family. She's having a hard time getting past this...Joshua helped. A lot. She was able to live without this fear: helplessness. To live without it for even a short amount of time and then have that hope ripped away devastated her. Sometimes her fear of trust, helplessness, people in general, it cripples her.Being in that stage between adulthood and childhood can be quite difficult. Especially for one who married so young as she had. Cal was 13 when she married Joshua.She'll have some issues with maturity, she won't be able to separate her choices from her emotions as well. She's the typical adolescent trying to worm her way into adulthood....which will happen within the RP (hopefully)
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Pessimistic:​

Cal often sees the negative side of things, she doesn't look for the bright side. Because of this, she's often seen as depressed, over-critical, you name it. She often sees the worst in people, but plays it off as if she doesn't care.

Brief History

Calina was born to Arlen and Amelia Iona in Port Syren 18 years ago. Her father was in the beast taming trade after her family had settled there several years before Calina was born. Her great grandfather was the first of the Iona clan to settle in Port Syren, making the choice not many made: to stay put in Port Syren. Arlen was the head of the family, as was typical. He's a strict man, not allowing for any wiggle room, excepting, of course, his beloved Amelia. Not even Cal was allowed to stray far from the town; she was allowed to go out in a small boat and enjoy the calmness of the waves (which she did very often). She grew up isolated, naive, as well as ignorant. She didn't know much about the rest of the world...she wondered what it was like, outside of her fathers world.

She didn't have very much time to dwell on the fact that there was an outside world, however. Amelia made sure she knew the jobs of a woman: cooking, sewing, taking care of kids, keeping the place clean, the normal stuff. Her father taught her the trade of beast taming. Cal thrived in this trade...she loved the intensity of it...it was a break from the strictness that was at home.

Not many people knew, but Arlen was abusive. Not just to Calina, but to his entire household. However, Calina bore the brunt of his fury the most. Whenever she had done something even slightly wrong, she would earn her fathers fury. She has a few scars from when his anger got out of hand before her mother stepped in. Her mother and her never really got along either...they both kind of retreated to themselves whenever Arlen was in one of his rages. Because of this, Calina bore most of it alone, and scared. She never knew when her father would be in one of his moods. She strove to please him, but no matter how hard she tried, he was always angry at her for one little thing she did wrong.

This is where Cal learned her work ethic. She would do everything to the best of her ability in the effort to accomplish what almost every little girl wants: to please her daddy. It was all for naught, however. Later on, Calina became a troublemaker. She had tired of working to please her father, and wanted to explore. Unfortunately, this often led to her being banned to the house. This was the worst for her...since she craved the open sea on her small vessel. She would slam the door to her room, and if it was raining outside, the rain would heat up to a point where it would create minor burns whenever it fell on flesh. This would happen now and again when she got really, really upset, but she couldn't control it, not at all, really.​

At the age of 10 her father announced the arranged marriage of Calina and Joseph. The wedding would take place on her 13th birthday. Calina rebelled. She would not marry this Joseph...she swore it to her father. Arlen grew angry and struck her against the cheek. He had let the anger win over him: he had taken Cal by the throat and shoved her against the wall. It was there that he threatened to remove everything she held dear if she threatened the arrangement again.

For about a year Cal was silent. She neither talked, nor interacted with anyone in her family. Then Joshua came along. Joshua was a kind boy. He was a little over 12, at the time. He had this way about him. He had this way of coaxing a smile out of the stoic Calina. He made her laugh more than she had laughed in her entire life. For 1.5 years, she and Joshua developed a very strong friendship. By this time, Cal had fallen head over heels for Joshua. When he finally proposed they elope, she was overjoyed. Not only did she want to marry Joshua because she loved him, but it would also be one final act of rebellion against her father. She and her beloved married a mere week before her wedding to Joseph was to take place. Her father was not happy. He kicked her out, and swore she would never speak nor see her family again.

Happy to finally be free of her family, Calina let herself love Joshua wholeheartedly. She was finally able to laugh without fear of punishment, free to walk outside the door without fear of her fathers fury. They did everything together. They accomplished so many amazing things together. She was truly happy for the first time in her life....until that day.

Shortly before she had turned 13, Joseph had come to town, expecting to wed her. Her father had been so angry, he had forgotten to tell Joseph she had wed without his permission. Joseph was not happy. He saw her walking to the market with a basket with a smile on her face, even though almost everyone there abhorred her for her treachery. He met her eyes briefly but looked away. She didn't even give him a second glance. Joseph was angry. So angry. He started to follow her, to find out where she and the man who stole her from him lived. When she entered a small cottage outside the village, he retreated.

Waiting for some time, Joseph waited for Cal to leave again, leaving her husband alone. When the time came, he leapt. He had taken Joshua by the throat and strangled him. He told him who he was, and what Joshua had taken from him. The door opened, and Joseph finished the job as Calina's scream filled the air. Joshua's limp body fell to the ground with his neck broken. Joseph turned to Calina, hatred in his eyes.

Calina had run to her beloved's body and cradled it to her. She had sobbed for the better part of 2 hours, calling for him to come back. When she realized, finally, that he wasn't coming back, Calina let out a screech of anguish. She had gone outside with a shovel. It was time to bury her beloved. The few people in town who did care for her (traveling merchants, none who settled), came out and supported her. She kept her face stoic, emotionless. She had cried all the tears she would cry. Never again would she give her heart to another...or so she thought.​

A few years after Joshua's death Calina formed a sort of friendship with a fellow exile who went by Cora. (Calina was 15 years old when they met) While they weren't exactly friends, and tended to try to avoid each other when possible, these two young women worked together in an effort to survive in a world where exile often meant starvation. They became partners, going out on fishing trips where Cora taught the young redhead how to fish.

~~~2 Years Later~~~

The Discovery of a Lifetime: Cal x Cora

Calina sighed as she bent over trying to get the last of the grime off of her boat, named Le Anglaria, before Cora arrived. They were going out on a fishing trip, hoping to bring in enough food to support them both to last for about a month, and bring in a livable amount of money. The latter was probably very unlikely. Cal was sore from scrubbing the decks, making sure the rigging lines were secure, and that everything was prepared.

Finally, the last of the dirt came off, and she stood with a low groan. Her back would attest to this later on. She had grown up as a beast tamer...not a fisherman. But she was learning, as Cora seemed to be an excellent teacher. Cal headed below deck to make sure Cora's room was stocked and ready. Clean bunks, sheets, pillow, all the necessities. After Calina finished her last minute work, she headed up top, and sat on the dock of her boat, letting her legs dangle out over the edge, waiting for Cora to show up.

~~~~~

With clouds swirling overhead and a cool breeze playing through her thick, wiry curls, Cora considered the possibility of a storm as she wound her way through the alleys and passageways of the Port, making her way to the smaller, generally unused docks near a set of rough cliffs. Larger boats disliked maneuvering around the sharp rocks, but the space suited Cora and Cal's smaller vessels well, and shielded the pair from prying eyes. Scrambling down the gravelly slope, the woman's green eyes scanned the harbor for a familiar carrot top, and, sure enough, found it milling about a gently bobbing white boat like an insect.

The sight of Calina brought about conflicting emotions within Cora's already-turbulent heart, as it always did: relief, resentment, apprehension, mistrust. Although the pair were bound in many ways, they still had much to learn about one another- a difficult task considering they were both about as emotional as rocks. In any case, Cora knew they had a job to do today, the same job as the day before, and the day before that: to make as much money possible with the limited resources they had. Luckily fish were plentiful in the ocean, and Cal was a fast learner- hopefully they would bring in a solid catch despite slightly turbulent waters.

As the sailor neared her partner's boat, she raised a hand in a stiff greeting, and wasted no time in hopping aboard."Ready?"

~~~~~
Calina had stopped mourning her beloved some time ago, but to this day she was reminded of him by little things. Today it was the soft, choppy waters with the sun rising in the horizon, but clouds quickly dimming the horizon. He loved these types of days, and would drag Cal from her warm bed to come see the sunrise. She took a deep breath, breathing the salty air in. She felt at home here, more so than in her small cabin outside of town. The sound of footsteps resounding from the wooden docks broke Cal out of her reverie. She glanced over to see Cora boarding the small vessel. Cal's face remained neutral as she stood as her partner approached. "Ready?"

Cal nodded and set to untying the lines that held the small vessel to the docks. Soon enough, the duo was headed out for open sea. "Any trouble in town?"she asked as she adjusted the course slightly. A storm may be brewing, but they would get the job done. While she was uncomfortable with Cora, she did what needed to be done to survive. She always had this sense of resentment bounding whenever Cora was around. She shook it off, saying it was probably her imagination.

"How far out do you want to go today?"~~~~~
Within minutes the pair were sailing, and with every small wave crested Cora's shoulders released some of their tension until she was almost smiling as the small vessel skipped across the water. "Only the usual. Merchants forgetting to mind their own business, kids wrecking everything ..." Captivated by the sight of waves splashing against the side of the boat, it was a moment before the sailor added,"Not too bad." The vessel charged bravely forward, powered by the lively breeze- but oddly quiet on deck.

There was a moment of silence before Cora responded as she scoped the horizon knowingly. "Should only be about ten more minutes. We're moving fast." Although she didn't want to disturb the larger ships and gain unnecessary attention, the fisherwoman thought herself entitled to some of the better fishing grounds near the shore. It was a dreamy, hushed ten minutes as a sudden feeling of longing came over her, a strange beckoning that only strengthened as the pair sailed further out to sea. Something's out there. Cora said nothing to her partner, but scanned the water carefully as the wind pulled them closer and closer to an unmarked beacon.~~~~~
Cal nodded knowingly. Town was often....unpleasant for exiles like themselves. People tend to treat you worse then they do the family dog. She noticed the familiar ease in Cora's posture as they sailed further out. She knew her colleagues love of open water. Her own tension started to ebb away the further they got from town. It was a quiet ten minutes. She sat pondering in her thoughts until she felt this pull towards...something. She sensed something close. She left the wheel and threw the anchor down. As she leaned over, easing the chain over the edge, something caught her eye. "Cora, come look at this."A small object was floating on the water. She leaned over, reaching. She was just able to grab it and lift it over the railing.

"What the heck?"She twisted and turned the object in her hands. It was perfectly smooth with no blemish in sight. Silver in color, the object kind of glimmered in the lighting.This thing was no piece of driftwood. "What do you think it is? Some kind of egg?" she asked, although if it was an egg, it was larger than any one she'd ever seen or heard of.She looked over the edge, and could briefly see a similar looking object at the bottom of the shallow water. "It looks like there's another one at the bottom there."she said. Beckoning Cora to see it as well.
~~~~~
The boat was just sailing into slightly more shallow water as the attractive feeling reached its height, sending Cora, head pounding, over to grip the railing with white knuckles and stare out over the coursing waves. Slowly, the vessel came to a halt. SoCal felt it, too. Wary of some coral dragon's magic, the woman peered suspiciously into the depths and scanned the bottom for any signs of movement. Green eyes, however, were drawn straight to a curiously shining, cobalt object lying half-embedded in the sand.

Cal suddenly cried out and reached to swat a similarly-sized, silver sphere out of the water; it, too, glimmered with an unusual iridescence that was impossible not to admire. "I ... I don't know," the older woman murmured, though her gaze was swiftly drawn back to the object still sitting patiently in the sand. Without thinking about it, Cora pulled her cable-knit sweater over her head, stripped her breeches away, and climbed onto the edge of the boat, her bare feet gripping the edge of the railing with but a moment's hesitation; within in a half-a-second the sailor was diving through the clear, green water, her bright eyes keen on a certain shimmering object only a few feet away ...

With a gasp, Cora re-surfaced and hoisted herself up with one arm, the other wrapped snugly around the mysterious trinket. Huddling against the wall, the woman took a moment to assess the ... the egg that was practically humming in her shivering hands. It gleamed sapphire, with curves and ever-shifting lines that looked like a rolling sea of jewels. Trembling, she looked up to where Cal was staring at her own bauble, similarly transfixed.
~~~~~Calina saw Cora jump overboard to retrieve the other object and winced. That water had to be cold. Her attention was drawn to the egg in her hand, for that was the only explanation for its perfectly smooth surface...it was thrumming in her hand. She felt something whenever she touched it, like...she had no idea. She hugged it close to her bosom, feeling warmth spread like wildfire through her chest. It was like she was meant to find that...she felt something...affection? She hadn't felt affection for anyone or anything since Joshua died. How can this object create such an emotion in me that I thought I would never feel again? How is this possible after mere minutes of its discovery?

Hearing Cora gasp for air and clamber back aboard Le Anglaria, Cal glanced up to see an egg identical to hers, only dark blue, like a sapphire color. She met her gaze shortly before turning her eyes back to her own thingamajig that garnered her affection so quickly. Not even Cora was able to get past the outer shell that is herself. She couldn't take her hand off it....it was as if she were to let it go, this feeling of...completeness would leave her crippled.

She looked up to see Cora carefully inspecting her egg. "Let's go home."without waiting for a response, Cal stood from her position, silver in hand, and headed to draw up the anchor. Seemingly of it's own accord Le Anglaria turned and headed back to port. Something was up. She wasn't steering....Calina headed back to the main deck, and sat across from Cora...She felt the familiar surge of anxiety flowing....starting to hyperventilate, Calina felt a panic attack coming. Taking as deep breaths as she could, she clutched her egg closer with shaking hands. Weirdly, as soon as her flesh made contact with the egg again she felt a calming flow through her. Slowly but surely the panic attack left, and she was sitting staring at this beautiful object that had manage to soothe her...

"What in the hell is going on?"she wondered aloud as the boat sailed straight up to the dock of its own accord. Standing again, she tied the back lines to the dock, and hopped off deck, knowing Cora would probably get the front. As soon as she hopped off her boat, Cal slid her egg into her bag. She didn't want any trouble, and she sure as hell wasn't losing that egg. Already she felt as if she would be torn in two without it....."Head to my place?"she said as Cora stepped off Le Anglaria back onto dry land.

~~~~~

Shivering whether by the intense cold or the presence of the egg, Cora decided that clothing was probably a good idea, and yanked on her sweater and breeches. Keeping the egg tucked against the gooseflesh of her stomach, the woman tugged on her socks and boots and tried to ignore the euphoric effect the sapphire bauble was having on her normally-stoic self. It was magic, it had to be- but, surprisingly, it didn't feel like a bad kind of magic: the feeling in itself was suspicious, but Cora wasn't afraid of the little round sapphire clutched close to her stomach. Although the partners had barely been out on the water for half an hour, Cora did not protest her colleague's assertion that they head back for shore.

The sailor wasn't at the wheel, but she could feel the boat swinging around in a very unnatural way, almost as if the water were ... pushing them back to shore like a great hand clasped around the body of the vessel. If sailing out had been quick because of the wind, sailing back into the harbor was like lightning, leaving the pair of exiles with naught to do but tie their boat down with confused hands. Cora nodded briefly at her partner's offer. "I think that'd be best. We ought to crack these open." Still holding the egg against her stomach, the woman continued, "Something's off."

What scared her was that something seemed right.

~~~~~

Cal nodded, agreeing that something was off. "You may want to hide it, It looks valuable, and someone may think you stole it." She said as she gestured to the egg clutched to Cora's stomach. Without waiting for a response, she turned and started heading to what's been home for the past four years. As they wound through the back streets, trying to avoid the main population as much as possible, Calina clung to her bag as if it were her lifeline. She tried to play it casual, but pickpockets were common on these roads. She wouldn't let anyone take her newfound trinket that had awoken an emotion that she thought was dead.

She felt water splash on her arm; it started to rain slightly. Hearing the familiar whispers she hid a smile from her companion. She loved the rain.

Finally they reached the outskirts of town and Calina led Cora into her small cottage. Immediately snatching the egg from her knapsack, she dropped the bag and held it close to her once more.

No sooner than her arms were around the silver egg than it started moving. Gasping softly, she held it up to observe it...little cracks were?starting to show. What? Oh! It was hatching! Softly, Cal set her egg on the table, staying close by its side, eagerly awaiting to see the creature that emerged.

Slowly but surely, the creature inside chipped away at its prison. "Come on, little one." She whispered softly. After about ten minutes of trying to be patient, the egg finally shattered. Calina stared at the amazing creature before her. Her...scales?....we're silver, and her eyes were as blue as the night sky. The mall Dragon met her eyes and cooed softly, melting her heart. Reaching her hand out slowly, Calina stroked the dragons head. Where her wings should be were just bone outstretched. She figured the webbing may grow in later. She met Cora's eye, a look of awe in her own.

She sat on the ground, legs crowed and the hatching crawled into her lap and rested her head on Cal's stomach. "This is...unreal." She though aloud. Cal cuddled the being softly, scared that if she was to rough, she would break the young dragon.

Okay. She had to have a name, she sensed her Dragon was a girl so it would hAve to fit. What to name her? After a few minutes, she chose the name she and Joshua had picked out for their first daughter..."Hello, Kilyria." She said softly. At hearing her name, Kilyria cooed and bounced slightly with excitement.

Cal looked at Cora, she knew she had to leave, but was unsure as to whether Cora would go. Reluctant to leave her partner behind because they had worked up a good system. They made each other's lives easier by helping each other. How hard would it be on her own, if Cal were to leave. She wouldn't breach the subject now, she waited for her thoughts first. To see how she reacted.

~~~~~

Although she was vaguely aware of Cal's ginger hair leading the way through the crowds of the Port before her, on the entire trip to the younger woman's cottage Cora felt as if she were walking on a cloud. Noises seemed dampened as if chatting passerby were holding rags over their mouths, colors of the market blurred together into one soft rainbow, and at one point thick, warm drops began to fall from the sky, though the sailor hardly noticed it. All of her attention was focused on the trembling object pressed firmly into her stomach, hidden away behind a heavy sweater and a well-placed knapsack. The egg seemed to draw upon her energy and composure, leaving the woman with naught but giddy, quivering nerves as she hurried through the streets of the city.

Ruby, chapped lips parted in a sigh of relief as Calina's small cottage came into view, and the two women hurried through the front door and into the main room with intent in their step. While Cal went to set her silvery egg on the table, Cora sat down on the floor with a heavy thud and gingerly placed the beautiful, shimmering cobalt egg on the ground before her. No sooner had she reached out to stroke its rippling side when a gaping crack appeared, startling the sailor's hand back to rest on the dusty floor. Green eyes strained forward in attempt to decipher the contents of the eggs, but found no hints within... And so Cora sat, enraptured, as crack after crack appeared on the beautiful egg's surface, each contributing to form a jagged but elegant spiderweb.

Around ten minutes passed before the largest crack of all materialized diagonally across the face of the egg, slicing its surface into two roughly equal parts. The top half slid off after a moment, and the entire sphere suddenly rolled forward, depositing a slimy, wriggling creature onto the floor with a wet plop. Startled, the fisherwoman took a few moments to inspect the being before her, marveling at its soft white body and tiny claws. Soon enough she also noticed the small, fragile wings plastered to the creature's back. It was, unmistakably ... "A dragon?"Cora asked incredulously, and as if in answer, the hatchling opened its eyes to look at her with a calm and rosy gaze. An albino dragon. Giving a chirp of delight and straining forward toward her, the baby began slipping around in its own fluids and tripping over its enormous feet in excitement.

Cora, however, was overwhelmed. She threw up a hand and cried softly, "Stop that! I need to think."Immediately the hatchling stopped in its tracks, collapsing into a heap and staring patiently at her through rose-colored eyes. Although she could have used the younger girl's input, one backward glance revealed that Calina, too, had a young dragon sitting before her, and was similarly overwhelmed. Why in the world were two dragon eggs floating off the shore? the sailor wondered in exasperation, putting a hand to her temple. Will their mothers be after us? At an utter loss, she turned her attention back to the small creature huddled at her feet, which was still looking expectantly in her direction.

At Cora's stern gaze, however, the baby's eyes seemed to expand with love and genuine affection, holding her in what seemed to be the highest possible regard for a newborn dragon. Somewhat startled by this heartfelt expression, green eyes blinked once, and then twice before the sailor finally softened and opened her arms. After all, someone needed to take care of these dragons, at least for the time being ...Giving a delighted chirp, the hatchling wasted no time in folding into the fisherwoman's warm woolen sweater, and Cora was surprised to feel the coldness of the baby through the thick material. "Well, we'll just have to warm you up."She tucked him beneath the sweater and shivered a little as gooseflesh formed on her stomach, but did not dare complain. Something about this small, innocent creature pressed close to her heart felt enormously right, as if they were destined for one another ...

Shaking off the preposterous feeling, the sailor turned to her companion and shrugged, trying to play off her excitement as best she could (and failing miserably)."Cal. Now what?"

~~~~~

Kilyria was shivering but it wasn't from the cold; it was from sheer excitement, also a bit curious. She bounced slowly in Calina's lap and hopped out and ran a circle around her and jumped on Cal's shoulders. Cal smiled a genuine smile for the first time in years at the young hatchling's antics. Letting out a small chuckle Calina reached up and brought the small dragon to her bosom, under her shirt where Kilyria curled up and rested her head on Cal's shoulders. Gasping softly at the rush of emotions flooding through her, Cal breathed in a deep breath and let it out slowly, enjoying the feel of her dragon's scales resting on her. This had to be a dream....this couldn't be real. Dragons were extinct, weren't they? Well, most of them were. Yet here they were. Two dragons, hatched for them. She couldn't wrap her head around it.

She met Cora's eyes as her own egg had hatched into...an albino dragon? She watched Cora's startled reaction. Cora looked just as overwhelmed as she, only she handled it differently, putting a hand to her temple and not immediately embracing the young albino. Turning her attention back to her own dragon, currently snuggled in her shirt and breathing contently. Cal fingered the dragon's tail, it had a beginning of a mean looking club with a nasty hook on the end. That will do some damage in time. Every second that their flesh was in contact, the stronger the bond she felt with this wonderful creature.

She looked up as Cora addressed her. What now? Good question. She knew what she must do, but was reluctant to say..."I'm not sure. We have to keep them hidden, Cora. You know what would happen if they were seen. They'd be killed, probably us too...OUCH!" She exclaimed at Kilyria's sudden bursting out the top of her shirt to go explore her new surroundings. Her tiny claws had snagged a little bit of her shoulder, leaving a large scratch. She sighed. She met her acquaintance's eyes, green eyes locking in with hers. "They're going to grow....and grow fast. We won't be able to hide them for long..." She trailed off, still hesitant to say what she was thinking. "We need to leave Port Syren. Probably never to return." There, she'd said it. She had this feeling...they had to go north. Away from the sea...her heart tore. She loved the sea...the feeling of open water, the salty air, the scylla's and the seacat's roaming underneath. To go north would mean to leave them behind. She breathed softly, looking towards Kilyria, who was nosing around the cabinets.

Cal whistled softly, and Kilyria looked up and met her eyes. Squealing loudly with excitement Ki ran to her new best friend and sat on her lap, eyes looking up at her with eager expectation, awe, love, care, concern. Cal didn't know how to react to this, so she just ran her ha?d down the baby's back.

~~~~~

Cradling the dragonlet gently beneath her sweater, Cora listened quietly as her partner made a heavily weighted proposition, though on the inside she was screaming."I don't know if I heard that right. You're suggesting we leave the port, Cal?" she asked after a moment, her voice thick and tone incredulous. Finding a newborn dragon was overwhelming in itself, and finding two was unthinkable, but the prospect leaving her home of nearly twenty years was somehow more preposterous than either."How are we going to make a living on the plains? Or in the forests?" the woman asked, her voice somewhat bitter."We can't take our boats upriver, and I don't know anything but the sea. How can we leave it, Calina? Why would we?"

Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, Cora pressed the palm of her hands into her eyes and absorbed the silence, thinking. Despite her misgivings, there was a quiet voice inside of her saying, 'do it.' Leaving Salt Haven would finally put distance between her and Darius, and the mere thought brought tears to her eyes; but the port was her home, her destiny, and she was utterly lost without the calm presence of the ocean nearby. Every muscle felt locked in tension, and every particle of Cora's being was caught in the struggle of her decision for a few heavy minutes.

Suddenly a light touch on the stomach brought the sailor out of her reverie, and with surprise she peered into the neck of her shirt to see two calm, rose-colored eyes staring back at her. The hatchling had begun to knead at her abdomen gently, like a small pet would, and although the motion was small Cora felt all of the tension drain out of her almost immediately. A few reflective seconds passed until she spoke again. "We can take the river north and see where it takes us- maybe head for the forest, or the mountains to the west, where no one will bother us. I hear some of the smaller villages around there know a bit about dragons." Heaving a sigh, the woman reached under her sweater and stroked the sleepy newborn curled up against her stomach."But this isn't going to be easy, Cal. If we're going to keep them ... It's going to be worse living than the past few years have been. And we'll have to be careful- so careful." Cora closed her green eyes as she awaited a response that she knew would result in her abandoning the only home she had ever known.

~~~~~
Calina nodded, understanding the incredulous tone in Cora's voice. She could hardly believe she had suggested it herself. But a few minutes later Cora had heaved a sigh and consented. "... this isn't going to be easy, Cal. If we're going to keep them ... It's going to be worse living than the past few years have been. And we'll have to be careful- so careful." Cal shot Cora a sly smirk. "I was planning on trampling through the middle of town shouting that we had dragons, come and take them. Of course we'll be careful, Cora. Aren't we always?" Cal shot back. But as soon as she had finished speaking, Cal got up from the floor, put Kilyria on her shoulder and got her normal pack out. She filled it with a few days change of clothes, food to last for two for a few weeks.

After she was finished, she followed Cora to her place, and when she was ready they went out the back door with dragons in tow. As soon as the door slammed, Calina turned towards the sea at the connecting point with the river. They would stay near water, if she was going to give up the sea, she would not give up the river. Some flowing water had to be near to keep her calm. But this she knew:She was never coming back.And so the two young chosen one's began their journey of a lifetime. A journey very few have been picked for. A journey that will lead them to grow and flourish in a world they didn't even knew existed.This, my friends, is where the story begins.​

Relationships ​

Amelia Iona-​

Mother​

Age 32​

Just because Amelia is her mother doesn't mean they have any sort of relationship...her mother gave birth to her. That's it. She didn't pursue a relationship with her daughter, and when she did it was too late.​

Arlen Iona-

Father

Age 48

Abusive fathers aren't often involved in their daughters lives except to make it a living hell for them...

Joseph Damona-

"Fiance"

Age 35

Joseph was the man that Arlen had arranged for Cal to marry....as we all know this didn't work out.

Joshua Akassa-

Husband

Deceased

Joshua was married to Calina for 6 months before being murdered by Joseph.

Cora Taylor Morgan- ​

"Friend"​

Age 20​

There really is no word to describe the relationship between Calina and Cora. They aren't really friends, persay, but more like partners in survival. They work together often to survive in a world where if one is disowned it's very difficult to survive.​

​

Kilyria

Gender:
FemaleAppearance
As a hatchling, Kilyria was the size of a large puppy. Her wings were just little bones sticking out with no webbing, and her eyes were deep blue, like the ocean They still are. Her hide is covered in thick, shined silver scales, and two horns extend from right behind her ears going backward. She looked like a baby dragon would look like. Her talons are sharp and deadly, if they needed to be.

Now, Kilyria is around 8 feet long, tip to tail. Large enough for Cal to sit on her back, but small enough to not be able to fly with her. Still silver, her wings have grown quite a bit. She is able to use them to cover Cal at night, when there is no shelter, using them as a blanket. Her deep blue eyes are intensely beautiful, yet extremely kind as well. She has grown in height as well, being about as tall as a large horse (think Clydesdale).

Personality:

Curious | Playful | Childish
Like most silvers, Kilyria is curious by her very nature. Sometimes it has gotten her into trouble, other times it has paid off in the end, rewarding them both with supper for the night. She's also very playful, she loves to play games. She balances Cal out very nicely in this sense. Cal normally likes to cut to the point, while Kilyria likes the playing around. Kilyria is a mix between what we call a cat and a puppy...she has the energy and playfulness of a puppy, yet the stealth and demeanor of a cat. She loves the water....she's often found napping in a small stream whenever Cal is off doing something that she didn't need to get seen at.

Kind | Loving | Gentle
Unlike Cal, who can be seen as heartless sometimes, Kilyria is very kind and gentle. She loves everything that has life. She trusts easily, and has this loving aura around her that one can't help but trust her with everything. She is the only one that Cal truly trusts, even though they can't understand each other. Ki is so gentle with every living thing, it's incredible. She loves to watch nature around her interact. The food chain, the circle of life, everything. She's fascinated by it. She would love to one day be able to communicate with mortals without harming them...but first she must be able to communicate with her future rider, Calina.

Intuitive | Knowing | Calming
Kilyria has a very good intuition, she's good at telling how her companion is doing, and what she needs. It's like mother's intuition, only a little stronger. She has this calming aura around her, one can't help but love her. She seems to know what people are going through, and tends to their needs. She's very mothering by her nature.

Abilities​

~~Calming~~​

Kilyria is able to calm people down. When tensions are high, anxiety raging, anger firing, whatever it is, Ki can help to keep you calm and peaceful. At the moment, it's just with her rider. That in and of itself is a challenge for her, since Cal is such a fiery young woman who has a temper. But with time, she is able to calm her down, help her to remain peaceful. This will come in handy in battle situations, she will help her rider (and in time those around her) keep a level head.
​

~~Snow Manipulation~~​

Kilyria is able to control snow. When it is barely starting to snow, she will eventually be able to take it and turn it into a blizzard if she so desired. She will later be able to summon it if she needed to. Her ability is a nice match to Cal's in that if it is raining, Ki will be able to turn it into snow when she is trained. Imagine: Snow in the middle of the summer. Wouldn't that be cool?

Strengths​

Size:​

Kilyria is a medium sized dragon. She's neither small, nor large. Her max length will probably be close to 20ft. Because of this, she's more agile, able to turn almost on a dime.
​

Talons and Tail:​

Her talons are very sharp, good for gripping things, piercing things, and more. She is swift and agile, being able to grab onto her prey at the last second. Her tail has this hooked club at the end. This would be great in combat...if needed.
​

Flight:​

Her wings are rather large, so she is able to do long distance flights fairly well. She loves to fly almost as much as she loves living creatures. She's able to maneuver very well in the air, commencing complicated tactics with ease.
​

Swimming:​

Kilyria loves the water. She absolutely adores it. Sometimes she refuses to get out, even when Cal is urgently trying to get her to move when there's people near. But she's good at it. It's built muscle where other activities wouldn't, it's increased her flexibility.
​

Optimistic:​

Kilyria is optimistic by nature. She loves to see the best in people, where Cal can't. She thinks the glass is half full, not half empty. She is a happy, go-lucky type of dragon who loves to bring a smile to her companions face. Often, she is the only one who can.

Weaknesses

​

Fight:​

Like most silvers, Kilyria hates fighting. She hates it with a burning passion. Most often, she will try to flee from a fight, or talk them down, or use her ability. The only time she is willing to fight is if her own life, Cal's, or any of her family is in danger. If that is the case....beware for she is a deadly weapon when she chooses to be. For when she's truly threatened, she will use her breath weapon: flame.
​

Size:​

Because she is so small, she doesn't have a lot of strength to put behind her attacks. While she does have some muscle built up from swimming, she doesn't use it other than for that reason. Also, when in a heavily populated area with a person you can't communicate with...it's rather hard to hide an 8 foot long dragon from prying eyes.
​

Curiosity:​

Kilyria is an extremely curious creature. When she's fascinated by something, she will study it, interact with it. Whether it be friend or foe....Ki has often gotten herself hurt or in trouble because of her curiosity. Cal balances her out in this sense, because Cal is a little more careful in her tactics...she won't let her friend get into too much trouble.​

Fear:​

Like Cal, Ki has been a bit sheltered. All she's ever seen is what she's seen with Cal. She's terrified of being separated from her friend. She clings to her like a mother to her newborn child. If Cal's away for longer than an hour, fear begins to set in and she begins to panic... and a panicking dragon is not fun at all.​

THEOLYN CHAR SHEET TO COME

Kahyna Shirin AymelekFemale | 24 | Gareth Mercenary​

B A S I C S​

​

Place of Origin
Gareth City Outskirts

Height
5’8” (173 cm)

Weight
160 lb (72.6 kg)

Hair
Flaxen

Eyes
Hazel

Appearance

​

Shirin is a beautiful maiden with shimmering flaxen hair that shines like the rays of the suns have kissed each individual strand, hints of strawberry red flickering in and out of view. In long, straight wisps, it dances like a sea of wheat on the many winds that rush across the Plains of Varon, stretching halfway down her thighs. From this curtain of beautiful hair is a strong, square jaw, prominent chin, large forehead, and wide nose. Thick brows, hinted with slightly more strawberry than the hair that curtains around this strong face, rest above round, beautiful eyes that shine like two golden suns starburst with emerald green and enhanced with the brilliance of orange flecks. Her skin is fair, kissed lightly by the suns, and it is covered with strawberry freckles, made mostly prominent on her shoulders and nose. She is broad-shouldered, built more like a male in the upper body than a female, with a thick neck, strong arms, and less prominent chest. Her hips are still wide, her waist narrow, and her chest still bears the mark of womanhood. But her legs are thick and strong, built more for hard labor than for the pleasures of men. Despite all of her manly traits, however, Shirin is known well for her raw beauty blessed in her gentle sloping curves and the grace of her posture.

At first glance, she appears completely normal and without any unnatural flaws. However, Shirin’s body is riddled with scars. On both of her arms are tiny marks, no longer than a quarter inch, as if they were cuts made just to scar. Her right arm is covered, from the shoulder to the wrist, with nearly a thousand of these tiny marks, each made with surprising precision, in a diagonal pattern in neat rows. Her left is filled to the elbow in a mirrored form of the right. Various scars, obviously not made deliberately like these, cover her fair skin, including a small mark on her upper lip just beneath her left nostril. However, the most prominent scar on her body is the remnants of her left shoulder. Where muscle is supposed to be rising smoothly from behind the collar bone and stretching from the neck, a gash that forces the flesh to twist down and wrinkle into a horrible mess of bone and disfigured muscle. This old wound stretches from the back side of her neck, narrowly missing her spine, across the front of the collar bone and down to where the skin of her left arm meets her torso.

Outwardly, many have claimed Shirin to be a warrior princess sent from a faraway land to tame the men of the Mainland. Clad in shimmering ringmail of silvery steel and lined in silver that bear the smallest hints of shimmering blue, a ring of silver crowned upon her head and woven into her flaxen braid, she is the embodiment of battle. Thick, studded leather gloves reach up to meet her armor, died gray to match the shimmering silver of her ringmail with hints of blue upon her wrists. Her long, beautiful hair is tied into a thick, strong braid reinforced with a leather throng woven around it and re-braided daily. She keeps herself appearing professional, holding about her an air of power, grace, and intimidation. Her face never loses its emotionless state, and none have seen her without at least a tunic and leather pants tucked into worn leather boots. She always has a thick leather belt around her waist complete with two pouches – one on each side – and three waterskins.​

​

P E R S O N A L I T Y​

​

Strong//Courageous​

Shirin is a warrior in all senses, knowing and understanding the value of strength and courage. She knows that courage is not the absence of fear, rather the knowledge that something is more important than fear. Her strength is infamous, and her knowledge of battle is uncanny, almost frightening. She is the woman who brings the fight to bad men and wins. No matter the battle, where she has gone, she has won, never giving up the fight until there is nothing left to fight. Some would call her brutal, others a hero. Some just say she's plain crazy...it all depends on one's perception of her. Shirin cares not for the emotions in the heat of battle, pulling on anger and fear to drive her sword home, making her even more deadly of a weapon. And yet, there seems to be a tic that most cannot see...one that does not completely define a mercenary...more a paladin. She is lawful and good, protecting the lives of innocents, including children and animals. Never will a creature of beauty and natural love be taken into battle if Shirin is around, for a battle is one of twisted minds and cold hearts. She understands that this is what it takes to war. Even if it is not something she contains, herself.​

​

Understanding//Compassionate​

Of all human beings, Shirin knows and understands the hardships of life. She has a heart that can carry out the greatest of feats, and she will always try to do right by her comrades. More than anything, she has a fierce understanding for the world, and all life within it is sacred to her. With every life she takes, she is scarred internally, and always prays that their souls be carried away from the terrible nature that life can bring. She marks herself to keep count of how many wrongdoings she has committed, praying that she may one day see the ones who can once more grant her love and acceptance, forever taking away the nightmares, the anger, the pain. Always will Shirin look for the good in people, believing whole-heartedly that there is good in every creature, no matter how small. Her brother once said that it's her compassion that will get her killed, even though that was one of the things he loved about her. It was around this time that Shirin learned to turn it off on the outside, no longer showing emotion and compassion for the hearts of men. But there is still a part of her that truly cares. It's just buried beneath a cloud of heavy shadow.​

​

Stubborn//Headstrong​

This is a woman who will always fight for what she believes in, going as far as killing for it. In almost every way, she is as close to a Paladin as a mercenary can get, understanding that the world has twisted away from its original purpose. Though she serves no God, she follows what is good and right, even if it means breaking a few laws. If she has a point, she will stick to it fiercely, and argue it until her foe backs down. It takes a great mind and many points of interest to make her back down from her thoughts and views. But it takes an even greater heart to thaw what has become frozen and dim, for the eyes of the children still haunt her thoughts and dreams.​

​

Insecure//Doubtful​

Though the warrior carries herself with pride and determination, there is a part of herself that questions why she is the way she is. She is a warrior with every fiber of her being, but she has a hard time being a woman. She does not know how to dance like she did when she was young, and she does not know how to control the waves of emotion that pour from her at times of great personal stress. She only knows how to fight and survive, how to live and breathe war. She does not know how to talk to men as a woman, nor does she really know how to feel without being consumed by the emotions she has within. While she can often be the voice of reason, she has a bad habit of being a tad awkward at times. She’ll stumble over her words, try to correct herself, only digging a deeper hole. However, when angered, she speaks strong and true, and her words have gotten the better of her before.
​

Trustworthy//Loyal​

Shirin is a loyal woman once you take the time to get to know her. She will keep any and all secrets spoken to her ears alone, understanding that it is never her place to speak them aloud. She is faithful, always standing beside the ones that put their faith in her. She becomes their foundation, standing strong and fighting for them, perhaps even to the death if that is what is needed. And unless they break her trust, she will love them with the heart of a warrior princess forever.​

​

A T T R I B U T E S​

​

Skills & Abilities

Sword's Grace - Through the life of training in the art of the sword, Shirin has mastered many simple maneuvers and is quite good at more advanced moves. She can move about the battlefield with frightening grace. Though young, she is strong and agile, an expert by many means...but even Shirin still has a great deal to learn.

Warrior's Strength - Though not a full-plated knight, Shirin has grown the willpower against the blow of enemies. She is able to take a few hits against her armor before she begins to feel damage.

[M]Berserker – It takes a great deal to make Shirin angry, but when she does get angry, she becomes a living nightmare. Losing all sense of self-preservation, she attacks without remorse. Any and all within her path of destruction will fall, even friends and allies. As she grows as a dragon rider, this skill will become a more magical ability, enhancing her attack and defense capabilities by a great deal. Some might have even spoken of this ability being magically enhanced when the name, Kahyna, was first resting upon the lips of men.

Mighty Arc - The warrior is able to channel a vast amount of strength into a single blow against tougher foes, deeming them mortally wounded. However, this requires full concentration, and the warrior cannot be hit while charging.

Call of the Warrior - The warrior emits a mighty battle cry that calls all allies to her in times of need, even sending them a surge of greatness and courage in their times of need.

Shining Sword - Using the sword of her father, Shirin has the unique ability to use the sun to her advantage. Utilizing the gleaming metal and the sunlight/moonlight, Shirin is able to cast a beam bright enough to blind anyone who lays eyes upon it.

[M]Bath of Light – Upon making the Pact with her dragon, Shirin will gain the ability to feed upon the sunlight. Like her dragon, she can draw in the power of the two suns and store it within her, and as this ability grows stronger, she will go from using it as an energy boost to even healing minor and sometimes even major injuries on her own body.

Strengths​

Survivability- Shirin, though not able to truly adapt to new climates, can survive for a few days in odd places. She has a basic knowledge of plantlife, able to usually determine if something is poisonous or not. She can build a tent and start a fire, and she is always able to find water when it is needed.

Strong Personality- Shirin has the leadership qualities many seem to lack in certain ways. She is a strong foundation for any group, and her flexibility with people only allows for relationships to grow better.

Firm Hand- This woman is not afraid to be firm with someone if they are in the wrong. In many senses, she is a paladin, which means she will do everything in the right way, and if that means slapping you senseless, she will do so.

Weaknesses​

Feelings No-Show - Pride can oftentimes get in the way of what one is truly feeling. Every death, every problem...it takes a toll on Shirin. But her pride always gets the better of her, so she never truly shows emotion. Her voice, even, will be more monotone than a normal person's should be. The only emotion that ever really shows is anger, and that can be a serious problem at times.

Angry Outbursts - Everyone gets angry. Everyone snaps. But Shirin snaps on a whole new level, taking her rage to the point of killing those who she has deemed friend. Oftentimes when Shirin gets angry, she blacks out, not realizing the harm it can cause her and the people around her. But perhaps with a little more compassion and a little less death, Shirin can see the good in letting emotions out on a different scale.

Shoulder Injury - During the same battle that deemed her brother, Kaliduras, useless in war, Shirin took a heavy blow to her left shoulder, deeming that arm useless in combat. Due to this, she cannot wield any two-handed weapons. Luckily for her, the strength in her right arm enables her to wield her heavy-bladed bastard sword one-handed without the loss of balance.

Nightmares– Though she will never admit to it, Shirin is plagued with terrible nightmares. They leave her screaming as the faces of those she has killed haunt her mind every time she closes her eyes. The moment her memories return in full, upon making the Pact with Byriarti, these nightmares will only get worse.

Slow– Shirin used to be very good at dancing with the sword, applying both grace and speed to her movements in the art of battle. Since her injury, however, she is slow and somewhat lumbering. Her injury can sometimes get the best of her, much like a kink in her armor, and until she can heal it or find a way around it, she will remain this way.

Sunlight – Upon making the Pact with her dragon, Shirin will have a blinding need to be in the sun every day. Going without sunlight can grow to become painful for her, and without training can do actual harm. With training, she will be able to suffice with moonlight, but this will take a great deal of effort.

Magic – While Shirin is a natural with the sword, Magic seems to be blocked for her. She cannot access it on demand, and if she tries, she will more than likely fail. The only magic that gets through on a regular basis is the lullaby sounding from the Element of Light. Even that cannot be controlled and has no power for her.

Archery – Shirin has tried many weapons, from spears to axes to hammers and even daggers, and while she has been quite terrible with them, there is nothing worse than the bow and arrow. Her foot still aches from time to time.

The thought of taking a soul from one dimension and placing it in another would seem impossible. The way the Wicker flows and weaves itself is so complicated - so hard to process that taking the soul of a creature born into one world - snatching the soul as the shell dies a gruesome and horrible death - is rarely heard of. And then to place such a soul into a shell on another world in another dimension is a process that not even the gods can really understand.

But Chaos, Daughter of the Thestimosa, the Endless Nothingness that holds within itself the fabric of time and space known as the Wicker, has this ability. And she only does it for the most valuable of souls. The most precious of creatures who lost their lives so soon after grasping it. It is rare that the ancient creature - a God that is more than a God - uses this power. And for this precious soul, she broke through every barrier that could possibly block her. For a small moment in time, she ripped a hole in the Wicker, stealing herself the souls that she needed for her own story and placing them safely upon her precious world.

For this soul, there were two shells. A human. And a dragon. Split apart upon creation only to bond together in a way much safer than the Pact. Their bond did not last long. They both died at such young ages. But it was their deaths that created an opportunity for Chaos, the ultimate God. Already had she stolen herself another soul or three from this dimension. All within the same family. All to better raise this soul up in her new shell on her own surface. It was the first time she had done so.

Originally, the woman who was created of this soul was beautiful and full of grace and wonderment. She lived. She danced. She loved. But her time spent loving only led her to despair and a life of misery ending in her one desire to end it all. But then a man came to save her from her torment. And so, she met her other half. A beautiful dragon that reminded the great Chaos of her own child, the Sunstone. How beautiful he was, shimmering like the fires of the suns with eyes of ice blue and a temper that would blaze beyond her fiery daughter, Ova. She watched as they grew close, their bond as a single soul growing stronger.

She watched as this soul fell in love with another. But he was destined for his own story. And sadly, that story did not include her.

As a young dragon rider - or tamer, as she was called - she fought her first battle with a prowess that astonished the great Chaos. It was a desire to love her world and her comrades that was so strong, it blinded the goddess momentarily. Like the flare that burned from her mate the moment he died and became the world that now needed her. And it was the love that soul had for the one she was not destined to be with that truly drove her to fight for what she believed in. Sadly, Chaos could not recreate this love for the soul. But she would do her best to create a life that was not so harsh.

So, as the shells died away, Chaos snatched the final piece and once more split it in two, creating two souls. This time, they were fully separate, for Chaos could not recreate the bond that had been implemented upon the other world. Instead, she chose to place these precious souls in their own story. A story that they were destined to live through.

One that could show them love again. One that could make the soul blind the goddess as she had done for her previous world. The goddess only hoped it would work.

This new story began with a young man and woman born into the second ring of Gareth. The man, born with dark, rich hair and named Fynrir, grew to be a warrior and a wonderful cook. The woman, born with strawberry hair and named Syf, grew to be a curious soul with the desire to learn. He would be recruited into the Tarjan Army, the vile creation of King Tarja when Man was created, and trained to kill dragons. She would study magic in Armond's Academy of All Things Magical, rising up to enter the doors at only the age of nine and not coming back down until she was nearly 25. So opposite in how they came to be in the world, it was a miracle they ever found each other. Or, perhaps it was Fate stringing the two souls together in this world as it had the last.

Fynrir learned in his many years of hunting that the killing of dragons was wrong. That the killing of anything, unless in defense of one's self or loved ones, was wrong. Perhaps, even then, killing and death was wrong. But what was he to say about it? Syf, by contrast, learned the basic art of Aura Magic, unlocking her own Aura so that she could learn the grace and wonderment that came with the use of magic. She grew to be a light and lively woman, always trying to see the good in those around her. At the age of 25, she gained enough knowledge to come and go from the Academy, and she once more stepped foot into the city.

On the same day that Syf came from the Academy, Fynrir resigned from the Tarjan Army against his commander's wishes. As he packed all that he owned and began making his way out of the city, never to see it again, he ran into the woman of his dreams. The woman that his soul had wished for since it began its new existence on Kabola. For them, it was love at first sight. But their stories extended through the Wicker, itself. Their love spanned through the Thestimosa, so strong a bond that not even the Goddess could break it. It was that love that she needed. It was that love that Chaos hoped would help the new soul live a better life where she was meant to be.

The couple left Gareth together, building themselves a farm many miles away from any city or town. What they needed, they grew. What they wanted, they traveled to trade for. Life was simple and humble. It was right. And within just a few years, their first child was born.

Kaliduras carried his name as his parents carried their love. He carried with him his wit, his compassion, his desire to learn new things. And this grew ever-apparent as the boy continued to grow in his new world. Though the soul ached for the lost love of his own life, he was able to grow beyond it, awaiting the life of his dear sister. In this new existence, it wouldn't be so long of a wait. In fact, the wait was only a few years. For his baby sister, carrying the name Shirin with her across time and space, was born when Kaliduras was only three years old.

The house that had been built by Fynrir and Syf had started out as a single room, simple by design with a flat roof and no walls within its containment. As their trees had grown, enhanced magically by Syf's careful hands, their home grew. From one room to three, from one story to two, with an angled roof and lots of small windows to let in natural light and air circulation. The wood they had grown was only of fifteen or so trees. Wild animals, such as rabbits and squirrels - even a mated pair of Amyrixes, eight-legged, badger-like creatures - had moved into the foliage. Just outside of their small wood was a single row of fruit trees, and on the other side of that was a one-acre-large field filled with beautiful crops. A barn stood tall behind the house, built to contain many livestock the family had traded for over the years. Chickens, ducks, a cow and a sheep...even a pair of Syntibas to use when riding to the next town.

It was in that house, built on a small farm over the course of time, in the room right adjacent to the main room containing the kitchen and dining area, that Shirin was born, her fire, love, and even her name carried with her soul over an entire dimension through the Wicker. It was in that room that her life - her journey on Kabola - would begin.

The night was summer, in the month of Ovanas, when the great Ova and her son, Badeceri, looked down upon the surface with brilliant smiles. It was warm and pleasant, as all early summer nights were. The wind was no more than a whispering breeze, and the little moon, Una, shined full and bright, happy to be present for the occasion. Outside, all were slumbering peacefully, awaiting the suns to once more rise so that they could start a new day. But for the Aymelek family - for Fynrir and Kaliduras - for Syf, especially - this night was far from over.

Syf had birthed her sweet son without a problem. Fynrir's strong hands guided his bride along, his voice gentle and sweet while she went through the torture of childbirth. But the birthing of her daughter was much harder on the woman. Her cries were endless, her body weak and drained of energy. It was the strength of her son's tiny hands holding her own and the soft voice of her beloved husband that carried her through. The strength of maternal instinct drove her to save the little baby that demanded be set free.

And after two hours of torment, the tiny wails of a baby sounded in that room and out onto the breeze.

At the same time the little babe was born, a special pair of dragons danced through the skies, high above the clouds. A male Sunstone Dragon had been spending every moment of the night desperately trying to stay awake in hopes of courting the female his gaze had caught moons ago. Finally, he had managed to remain airborne and strong in flight even during the later hours of the night. The female Moonstone was impressed with his display and accepted him as a mate. Higher and higher, they flew until the air was too thin even for them. They came together in a moment of passion, pulling their wings tight against their backs, clinging to each other, tails coiling as the mating ceremony truly began. Together, they plummeted towards the ground.

In moments, they were below the clouds and still falling. Just before they hit the ground, the pair split apart, snapping out their wings and separating before they went to a cave high in the mountains. It was there, on the same night, that the female lay a single egg. That egg would not hatch at its normal time, instead remaining dormant even as future eggs of the permanently mated pair hatched into either little Sunstone or Moonstone Dragons. That egg would be the one the parents eventually gave up to a silver-haired rider, who took it and placed it within the mountain of Silver Tail Island, where it would await its soulmate.

"It's a girl!"

Fynrir was delighted as he cut his new daughter from her mother before wrapping the wailing babe into a blanket and handing her to Syf. The woman was exhausted, but her smile was bright and true. Life had given her energy, and Light shimmered into the room to rest upon the babe's face. Kaliduras bounced up, laying stormy eyes upon his new sister before giving a squeal of joy. His squeal was what quieted the girl, her little eyes blinking open to look upon her smiling mother.

"My little Kahyna Shirin...little warrior princess. That is what I will call you forever."

To Syf, this name felt right. To everyone, it was right. For it was the name she was created with, and it was the name she carried with her through the stars. Only time would reveal just how well it would fit the babe.

Outside, the Elements waited patiently for their new arrival, watching over the family with joy, as their mother could not. Once the soul was placed into a human shell, she could have no more interference. Humans were not of her domain. While she could place a soul to influence the shell, she could have no more interaction with them. That was the law of the Thestimosa. A law not even the ancient Chaos could break. So, the Kalidyrre watched over her from above. And the three circles of Elements watched the farm with great joy. But the boldest of the Elements, the brightest, stepped forward and blessed the child with a friendship she would never lose. A friendship that she would not unlock until she needed it the most. The night was soft and full of joy, a beautiful beginning to what could have been a beautiful life.

The babe grew into a child quickly, a girl that learned to dance before she learned to run, running before she could walk, and walking before she realized she was ever able to crawl. She was curious and filled with a feeling of freedom and delight. Everything made her happy, and it was rare that she was sad or angry. She was witty and quick on her feet, nearly unstoppable in the things she wanted to do. Bonded strongly with her dear older brother, it was Kaliduras that was able to make her stop and think. She was not as intelligent as her mother or as good at learning magic, feeling as though it was locked inside her any time she tried to use her Aura, but she was strong and agile. She was always climbing, always swinging, always dancing. The girl simply couldn't sit still.

However, lessons were an important factor in her home. She would learn basic common language by the age of three. Her knowledge of each major city across the map of the Mainland was almost exact by the age of six. Her mathematical and strategy skills fell into her mind as easily as honey in tea. Her Papa was firm and hard, her mother lighthearted and sweet. She learned to sing and the art of formal dancing, and her body took to the grace and style of the dance quicker than anything else. She was like the dancing light of the suns across the reflection of water on the surface or a beautiful red ribbon dancing in the winds. She learned how to tend the land, and by the age of five, she was out in the little fields tending to the simpler plants. She was taught about wildlife and how to care for animals. Her life was a simple one. A happy one. But her mind was still void of one special trait, her heart aching to learn one very special art.

The art of the sword.

Kaliduras had been trained in the art since the age of five, when Shirin was only two, and their Papa had carved the boy a simple wooden sword to practice with. In Fynrir's eyes, a man had to know how to defend his home. Syf, on the other hand, had no intention of letting her little lady learn such a thing. This, however, did not stop the child when she found that little sword just a year later. She was only three when her older brother had outgrown his first wooden sword, and though still a toddler, was fascinated by the weapon. While her mind would wander during her lessons, it would not for that little sword. While her body would never stop moving, it paused for that. A tiny child, dressed in a little blue dress with bright orange ribbons in her flaxen hair, stood staring down at the sword, more still than she had ever been in her short life.

Kaliduras was the first to notice her, and though he knew his mother did not want little Shirin to learn, he showed her, anyway. She picked it up so quickly that even her Papa was at a loss for words. Within a matter of weeks, she was dancing with that little wooden sword, singing a lullaby taught to her by her mother, her body moving with a grace that not even Syf could fathom. Her body was lithe and graceful...but more importantly, it was strong, for she contained the strength and heart of her mother as well as her own fierce determination. Her feet were quick, her body flexible. She was in all senses a dancer. And Kaliduras helped her put that skill to the art she had quite obviously wanted to learn.

By the age of seven, she had mastered the very basic maneuvers, and to make it better, she fit the sword perfectly. By the age of ten, her mastery grew to the higher levels of basic, and a new sword would have to be crafted for her, as she grew rather tall rather quickly. And by the age of twelve, she was able to disarm her brother within thirty seconds. It was then that her Papa granted her a greater incentive - his old Bastard Sword, called with great affection, Cor Luminis, or Heart's Light.

"This sword was given to me by a dragon right before I left the Tarjan Army, child. Your brother will be made a sword in Pavire by an old friend of mine, and we have both decided it is only right that you get this one."

The catch, however, was that she had to learn other types of weapons, including spears, axes, hammers, daggers, and even the art of archery. From her mother came yet another incentive - her circlet, magically enhanced by the mages of the Academy - as long as she put more effort into learning magic. Her determination increased, and she was bought a weapon from a trusted blacksmith in Gareth - hand crafted for her current size - to train with to make sure that the sword was all she could learn.

The spear was wobbly, throwing her off balance, but she found throwing it to be somewhat easy after some practice. The axes weren't balanced, heavy at the ends, always ending her dances shortly, usually with her bum in the dirt. Hammers were the same, but at one point she actually crushed her toe. Daggers were short, but she found them easy to throw whilst twirling. Archery? That was the worst. In fact, it was so bad that the child ended up shooting herself in the foot while also bruising her arm with the bowstring. She would take nearly a month to recover. The worst part, however, was the training in Aura Magic. Though she was intelligent, she was blocked...as though she did not have access to her Aura in ways her brother and mother did. At best, she could summon a small flame. At worst, that small flame would become uncontrollable, searing her beautiful hair or burning her hands.

Not even Light, the Element that had hoped to befriend her, seemed able to communicate.

Though the training only lasted a few months, the answers were clear. Shirin was destined to wield a sword. So Kaliduras continued her lessons in the art, and by the age of thirteen, she was granted the circlet from her Mama and Cor Luminis from her Papa. And even though she could not fully pick it up due to its weight, she knew the moment her hands touched the pommel that this sword was for her. So she practiced with it and with her training swords, growing stronger with each week that passed. For many more years, she would dance and sing, growing into a strong and beautiful woman.

Until around the age of sixteen, Shirin was a girl in all senses, save her intense desire for the art of the sword. Every day, she wanted ribbons in her hair, a dress over her body. It made her beautiful and powerful all at the same time, for with these items, she could dance. She grew to be beautiful, despite the jaw of her Papa and her brother, with peppered freckles, strawberry blonde hair, and a very graceful body. Her mother taught her to be a lady, and she learned to sew and make her own dresses. She became a woman of strong curves and an even stronger wit. And that wit would be used when she and her brother rode into Gareth or even out to Pavire or Lortania to trade. She gained interaction with people, learned of the world, and became a bright, lively, and powerful woman. The same woman she had once been on another world.

Only a week after Shirin's sixteenth birthday, tragedy struck in the form of angry soldiers and violent screams. Though it had been many years since Fynrir had resigned from his position as Dragon Hunter, the revenge of the Tarjan Army had fallen upon him and his family. Shirin and Kaliduras were nearly home from their final trip of the season to Pavire, hoping to find their home peaceful and happy as it had always been. This time, they found what was left after the destruction of a few angry men.

The house was in ashes, the barn quickly becoming so. Animals everywhere were lying upon the ground, throats slit and bodies wasting away. Even the crops and trees had been burned. But the most horrifying part of the scene were the bodies of two people, a man and a woman. Syf had been dragged out first, her dress ripped from her body before she was violated and then cut to pieces by swords and axes. It was obvious that her body was much older than Fynrir's, as most of the parts had already been drained of blood. Fynrir, however, had just recently died, his body undressed, his throat slit and still bleeding. Their pale skin flickered with the light of the dying fires around them, a horrific scene.

This was what the Tarjan Army did. They would wait patiently until there was a great deal to take away, and then they would strike. Leaving the army was unheard of, unless in training, and once a dragon hunter, always a dragon hunter. To turn away from such a job was to become a dragon sympathizer.

At first, there was no noise from the children. There was silence as what was before them sunk in. Then came the first wail of agony and despair, pried from the lips of the young woman as she leapt from the side of her Syntiba and ran to her beloved Mama and Papa. Falling to her knees before their mangled bodies, she lifted her Papa's head gingerly and held him to her breast. His blood quickly soaked the soft blue dress that adorned her body, but she didn't care. Rocking him back and forth, she lifted her eyes to the skies that held two moons and millions of twinkling stars, and she proceeded to scream at them. Tears fell from her shimmering hazel eyes, leaving rivers down her dusty cheeks.

She remained there for what felt like an eternity until her tears were gone - until there was nothing left. She never noticed her dear brother holding her shoulders and crying silently beside her. She didn't notice anything but the pain that had filled her, leaving her lost and empty.

It wasn't until a feeling of warmth and comfort fell over her that she noticed the figure that now stood upon the ashes of her home. The creature's body was almost too bright to look at, glowing with a white intensity that even Kaliduras had to look away from. But Shirin did not look away. She stared, and it stared back. A mighty stag, whose shape was nearly impossible to distinguish, watched the pair before it with twinkling eyes. Its rack was wide and massive, stretching out and up to cradle the tiny moon of Una, who once more sat full in the sky, separate from her sisters.

As Shirin stared back at the beautiful, mighty creature, it gave an agonized cry that matched her own before falling to the ground in a heap, sending ashes swirling into the air. As its body hit the ground, it exploded into thousands of tiny sparkles that sat still in the air around her and Kaliduras. For the remainder of the night, those little twinkling lights sat in the air, watching over the siblings as they sat with what was left of their family and their home. When the suns rose the next day, they knew they could not stay.

The very next day, training would ensue. But this time, Shirin did not wear ribbons in her hair. She did not wear a dress or gown. Instead, she wore her Papa's armor, which was too big for her and made for a tree of a man. What she could dig from the wreckage, she did. What could be salvaged was. With their parents buried side-by-side beneath the scorched branches of the only tree to remain standing, the pair would take their Syntibas and leave, stopping only to train. When they did, she was clumsy, no longer having the drive to dance.

"Hey...do this for them. Do something with yourself so that you do not lose sight of what's real. They want you to stay strong." His voice was clear and gentle as he took her chin in his hand, forcing her teary gaze to meet his stormy blue eyes.

"I'm scared." Her voice trembled as tears fell, creating rivers along her cheeks.

"You should be, Shirin...but that does not mean you cannot be courageous."

"How?"

"Follow my lead."

For the next four years, Shirin would follow her brother and train with the determination she had as a child. But no longer did she dance with her sword. No longer did she truly enjoy the art with which she had become infatuated at such a young age. She would grow taller, stronger, thicker. Her strawberry hair would fall to flaxen, becoming more gold, and flecks of orange began to intrude upon the amber and green. The freckles would all but disappear into smooth skin, hardened with a flat expression. Nothing really seemed to matter any more...nothing but her brother and her sword. She would grow faster and stronger, but she was no longer the dancing gypsy girl she had been.

They moved around a lot, never really finding a new home. With their hatred of the Tarjan Army and their heartache ever-present, they did not stay in any one place for longer than a week. Instead, they chose to live off the land, staying away from people as often as possible.

But Shirin wanted more out of life. She wanted to do something with herself. She did not want to be the girl who lost her meaning when she lost her parents. Instead, she wanted to help others. She wanted to keep what happened to her from happening to other people. Innocent people. So, a month or so after her twentieth birthday, Shirin decided to become a mercenary. She wanted to live a life of caring for others, to put her skills with a blade to use. When she told Kaliduras, he would nod and grunt in agreement. Together, they poured all that had remained of their previous lives and bought armor from the blacksmiths of Gareth. For her, it was a beautiful set of ringmail sold by a bedraggled elf in the bar. For her brother, it was a strong set of platemail made by the blacksmith. Both sets of armor fit the two like a glove, and they wasted no time putting it to use.

Not long after dressing themselves in their armor, the pair was pulled aside into one of the many dark alleyways on the streets of the first ring of Gareth. With blades to their throats, the siblings stared sharply towards the shadowy figures that held them. The one holding her spat out his words.

"We need some fresh meat like ya to do a little hit fer us. Two adults in the third ring need lessons, and yer the perfect ones fer the job."

"We aren't for hire yet," Kaliduras said sharply, the blade touching his skin in warning.

"Do it," the figure before her brother snarled, "or we'll kill ya."

"No, wait!"

It was Shirin's small cry of desperation that forced her into a binding contract.

"Ahhh, so ya care fer 'im, do ya? Well, we s'pose we'll jus 'ave to hold on to 'im. Off with ya, now! Go on! Or this one gets it."

The figure in front of her grabbed her arm and dug the blade beneath her armor in warning. "I'll jus' take ya to 'em then. You can do tha rest." It was night time by now, and there was little activity on the streets. The pair was able to slip through the gates easily - first into the second ring and then into the third. There, she was led into a quiet, dark house and then tossed into the hallway before being left there. Afraid of losing her brother, her mind filled with fear, she was unable to find a solution.

So, drawing her blade, she walked through the hallway into a room lit by a single candle. Within was a family - the two adults and two small children. It was the oldest child - a boy - who caught her first, his eyes widening in fear at the shadowy form that she was. He gave a scream, but she quickly charged forward and covered his mouth, dropping her blade in the process.

"Shhh!" she insisted as quietly as she could. "I am not here to hurt you. I am just trying to save my brother." She looked up at the parents. The father looked outraged, the mother frightened. Flashes of her own parents passed through her mind, and tears pooled beneath her eyes. "Please, you must leave the city at once! I do not know who is out to kill you, but they sent me in their stead. They have my only family left...but I will not kill yours. Please, leave!"

The father's face had slowly cooled as he realized she was risking everything for them. He gave her a nod, quickly packing his things and pushing his family through the back door. In the threshold, he gave her a silent thank you before disappearing into the night. In the nick of time, the threatening man returned.

"Well? They dead?"

He looked around the house, allowing Shirin enough time to grab her fallen blade, and as he came to realize that she let the family escape, she tackled him to the ground and slammed her blade into his throat, severing his spinal cord. With horror, she watched the light die from his eyes as blood pooled on the floor. She had killed a man. She had really just killed a man. Terror filled her. But as quickly as that terror had come, it left, as she realized she still needed to save her brother. Quickly, she ran back to the alley she had left.

And there, she found Kaliduras, standing over the body of the man who held a blade to his throat mere hours ago, blood dripping from his own dark sword. On his face was a mask of fear and determination, and around the pommel, his knuckles were whitened as his body trembled with adrenaline.

"You're safe...thank goodness."

"I killed him, Shirin. Just like that, he's dead." The fear in his voice startled her, making her eyes widen. Just as she had scared herself, she realized then that her brother was afraid of himself. They were killers. Murderers. They were the reason the light died from the eyes of those men.

"I know...but the important thing is you're alive. And so is that innocent family. Come on...let's get out of this city."

Shaking herself from her own shock, she grabbed her brother's free hand, pulling him away from the body and leading him out the streets, stopping only to wipe their blades on a spare cloth before sheathing them again. As they passed through the gate, leaving the city for the last time, the family caught up to them, and the father grabbed Shirin's hand.

"Thank you, my lady. Those men had been trying to get me to sell my sweet daughter to them, and I kept calling the guards on them. This city is horrible when it comes to keeping scum off the streets. You really did save us. Please, could I have your name?"

Shirin stopped, staring at the man in front of her her before looking at his wife and her gentle smile and then finally looking at his two children. Once more, the image of her parents flashed across her vision, and her hand still holding her brother's tightened as her breath caught in her throat.

"Kahyna, my lord," Kaliduras spoke, his deep voice resonating in the air a moment. The man looked from her to her dark-haired brother before his gaze went back to her. Kaliduras smiled slightly, nervous and ready to pounce at a moment's notice. "Kahyna is her name."

"So, this is the brother you spoke of. What is your name, good sir?"

"Kaliduras, my lord. We are mercenaries, and we had stopped by the noble city of Gareth to buy armor."

"Mercenaries, you say? Such kind hearts for mercenaries. Say, Kaliduras, my sister lives over in Pavire if you'd like to stay with us a while. Perhaps you can find work there. Wouldn't hurt to have some protection along the road, and we can pay you when we get there."

Kaliduras stepped forward then, realizing that the family certainly meant no harm, smiling kindly as his sister still stood, staring at the family in shock. Placing a hand on her shoulder, he broke her from her gawking before bowing to the man. Immediately she mimicked her brother's movements, giving a tender smile. "We would be delighted to accompany you, good sir. For the good of your family. And for the good of ours."

And so, they did. Having sold their Syntibas, the pair traveled on foot with the family, showing them all how to survive in the wildlands of the Plains of Varon. For almost a year, they all traveled together. By the time they got to Pavire, they had all grown so close. The children had grown quite well over the expanse, and the woman was pregnant with her third. Such a beautiful family, of bright eyes many shades of grays and blues and dark hair and skin. Though not rich, they were in good standing. It was actually the man's sister, Martha, who was rich.

"Hymeris! Anette! What are you two doing here?! I've written so many times over the past year, and nothing out of you! What happened?"

Martha was a larger woman with pale skin, bright blue eyes, and a light-colored wig resting over dark brows. Her husband had passed many years ago, and she had collected all of the profit from the man. Hymeris, her brother, came forward in his tattered clothing and hugged her tight. Despite the dirt and nastiness, the hugged him back, the relief seemingly taking the weight from her shoulders. "Well, now, come in! Come in!"

Martha was one of the wealthiest women in Pavire, but her mansion actually sat on the outskirts of the city. She communed with the people very little and did not keep up with town superstitions. Instead, she kept oddities in her home, preferring her collection over human interaction. It was amongst all of the strange knick-knacks and do-dads that Shirin and Kaliduras remained, doing odd jobs here and there and training every day out in the yards. But they would only remain for another month before once more, Fate spun its tragic web.

It turned out, quite some time later, that the two men the siblings had killed were not the only ones. They had been tracked, followed for a year, and then reinforcements were sent to ransack the house.

The children's screams woke Shirin with a start, and she raced out of bed to see the terrifying image she had been in only five years before. The children were on their knees, crying over their parents' bodies, their plump aunt lying across the room in a heap. Only the two were left, and their pregnant mother had been ripped open to be sure the baby died along with her. Without a second thought, Shirin grabbed the children and pulled them away from the scene.

"Kaliduras!" she cried, hauling the two fighting children away from the room, "Kaliduras, we're under attack!"

As she said this, a torch broke through the glass of a window, lighting up one of the curtains. Shouts of excitement sounded outside. Kaliduras stormed down the stairs, carrying everything they owned in his arms, including both sets of armor and the two swords they typically had at their hips.

"Kaliduras, take the children outside!"

"No, we will take them together, my sister. And then we will destroy the men who did this!"

He didn't even have to look at the tragic scene to know what had happened, for he, too, had felt the pain that the two Shirin had in her arms echoed. They stormed through the doors, and Shirin pointed the siblings towards nearby bushes. "If the fire gets to close, run away. Towards the city. We'll catch up."

Large, tear-filled eyes looked up at her from each of them. Those eyes, so filled with fear, pain, and hope, would forever be seared into her mind, for that would be the last she would see them full of life.

Quickly, the pair dropped their armor into the grass and unsheathed their weapons. Together, they hunted down each man and killed him without a second thought. Twenty men died. Fifteen of them would become little marks on Shirin's arm. But the night was not over, and there were more.

Two more men, hooded, stormed out of the bushes, each with one of the two children hooked in an arm, a blade to their chests. Instantly, Shirin stormed forward. And the moment she moved, the blades were shoved deep into each child's chest.

"No!"

She charged forward, her vision blurring in anger and pain, her blade swiping to decapitate a man before it was shoved into the other man's shoulder and chest. Two more tic marks would go on her arm, and two more seared in her mind. She had once more found love and joy and peace. And once more, it was stolen from her.

After that, she was a shell of herself. No longer showing any emotion but anger or rage. Not even the words of her brother could invite a spark from her. It was as though the light had truly died from her spirit. It was heartbreaking. But the torment was not over.

Forever changed, Shirin spent another year wandering with her brother, taking any job she could get. She added tic marks for each kill she made, and every night, her dreams haunted her. She no longer thirsted for revenge or found anger in trivial things like being around Tarjan Soldiers. She and Kaliduras were payed well, and while her brother was no more than a simple man with a sword in his hand, the name, Kahyna, was spread from town to town, village to village. She was a force to be reckoned with, they all would say. A woman that would stain the ground with blood if one were to cross her path of anger. But those were just stories.

At least, they were stories right up until a price was put on her head.

1,000 Platinum Pieces for KahynaMurderer of MenUser of WitchcraftSympathizer of DragonsWanted for Treason Against the Tarjan Army

That's what the posters said, anyway. Murderer of men? Sure, she was that. She slaughtered men by the dozens if they threatened the innocent. She would fight for what she thought was good in the world. Whether an angry shell or a woman with true emotion, Shirin was a warrior of the Light. And she would show that light when Kaliduras lost the ability to fight.

They were surrounded. An ambush in the dark of night, when all three moons were dark on their annual New Moon Night. The pair had been heading to Gareth to follow a lead given to them by a man who had paid handsomely. It had become quite clear that it was a setup, but there was no escaping what they had fallen into. Quickly, they drew their swords and readied for a long night.

After a half hour of long fighting, only five men had died. There were at least twenty more. And perhaps they would have slowly worn the pair down before finally taking them in. But people are stupid, even on Kabola.

A man charged forward wielding an axe, shouting as he aimed for Kaliduras, who was turned away. To the side, the axe flew out before being pushed from left to right, digging deep into Kaliduras's leg. He gave a shout of agony, mirrored by Shirin's cry of rage.

Some say she glowed when it happened. Her body just lit up like a solar flare.

But Shirin wouldn't remember. Her vision blacked out, and when she came to, all of them were dead, and Kaliduras was staring at her in both awe and fear. A short sword was wedged deep into her shoulder, but the adrenaline that still flowed through her body kept her from feeling it. Deciding to leave the blade in, she looked down at her dear brother, pale from bloodloss and unable to stand. With a grunt, she lifted him and proceeded to carry him the mile back to town as swiftly as she could.

Over the course of the next week, both would go through various procedures to tend their wounds. Kaliduras lost his left leg, and Shirin lost the use of her left arm. Unable to travel, Kaliduras was stuck in the village they had started from. It was a tiny village by the name of Callyre. Kaliduras, after having healed a great deal, decided it was time to let Shirin off on her own.

"Shirin, you aren't meant to stay put. You long for something more. Go out there and find it! I'll stay here where it's safe."

"I can't just leave you, brother. What will you do?"

"I will live my life as best I can. And I will do as Mother once taught me, sending messages to you through a little spell. If you can, learn that spell, and we can send them back and forth."

It took a great deal of prodding to finally get Shirin to accept. But Kaliduras was right. She longed for something. She itched to get back out into the world and discover what it was she was meant to find. So, with a final goodbye to her sweet brother, she left for Gareth in hopes of finding a new way out of the rut of tragedy she seemed to be stuck in.

It was around this time that she met a beautiful blonde woman by the name of Leatrix. Though Shirin was not one to make fast friends, she quickly decided to travel with the woman. Being in the same jobfield made it so much easier. In Pavire, Leatrix opened a mercenary guild by the name of Ebony. Shirin had little desire to stay in one place, and though she adored the blonde woman she had quickly come to know, it was once more time to move on. And move on she did. Over and over and over again.

Until she turned 24 years old and for the first time heard the Light speak to her.

It was a lullaby at first. The lullaby she and her mother would sing together when she was but a child. It had no words, but the melody was there, playing in the winds of the night as the moons and stars cast a silver glow upon the land. She was North, where the winter winds were always cold, even in the summer. She felt the air around her vibrate and shimmer brightly, dancing lights casting their little glows around her once more.

As she stood and looked around, she found her gaze once more resting upon the stag she had seen all those years ago, staring at her, its rack cradling a crescent moon as it looked at her knowingly before huffing and charging away, disappearing into thin air. As it disappeared, the distant mountain ranges came into view, and she felt herself being tugged in that direction.

Her feet carried her swiftly and steadily, her eyes fixed upon those mountains. For days and even weeks, she traveled, only stopping to eat and rest when needed. As the air got warmer before once more growing cool with the changing of the season, she found her hazel gaze cast upon the moonlit skies out in the middle of the Plains of Varon. A flash of brilliant silver came into her view before landing mere feet from her.

Shirin had never seen a dragon before, but her soul seemed to hum with recognition. It wanted this. It needed this. She was meant to be around such a creature. As it looked down upon her, another slid from its back. A woman of silver hair and brilliant blue eyes.

"Kahyna...your name floats around a lot, you know."

For a moment, Shirin just stood there, blinking up at the dragon before looking towards its tamer...no, its rider. Her mind was a whirlwind of confusion. Memories that she should not have had flickered into her thoughts. Memories of beautiful dragons and scales that shimmered like the fires of the suns. Of brilliant green eyes and dark hair.

"Kabola to Kahyna. You are Kahyna, right? Wandering Mercenary. Can't seem to sit still? You sure are still now."

"I-I am sorry...yes, I am Kahyna. May I ask who you are?"

"Aki. This here is Xaria. We have a message for you, Kahyna. From Inhalla, the Mother of All."

"Mother of what? I don't think I know that name."

The woman rolled her eyes, giving a sigh as her dragoness hummed with amusement.

With that, the strange woman named Aki got back onto her dragon and flew away. No more words. Nothing else. But it was all Shirin needed. With renewed vigor, she trudged towards the mountains and then climbed over them. What she found on the other side was a beautiful landscape not trudged upon by humans. And in the distance were three more mountains. Those mountains were what called to her, and it wouldn't be long before she found herself beneath them.

Fate had come full circle.

((ENDING TO BE REVAMPED FOR NEW STORY))R E L A T I O N S H I P S​

Fynrir Aymelek || Father || DeceasedShirin’s Papa was her stability in life. He was her teacher in many ways, from her lessons in raising a chicken to lessons in the art of the sword. She loved him with all her heart and looked up to him as though he were the greatest hero in all of Kabola. It is his sword that she wields and his morals that keep her going.

Syf Aymelek || Mother || DeceasedBy contrast, Shirin’s Mama was her enthusiasm and grace. She was the one who taught Shirin to dance instead of walk, to sing instead of speak, and to look at each day with a bright and happy smile. Since her mother’s death, Shirin has not worn a single ribbon in her hair.

Kaliduras Aymelek || Brother || 27The connection between these siblings is almost strange. He is her teacher, her sitter, the love when she has none. Without him, Shirin would have lost herself long ago. Without him, she would have never learned as much as she knows. She wishes it were she who lost the leg instead of him, but he always told her she was destined for great things.

Hymeris Venera || Friend || DeceasedThe man Shirin had saved once, but not twice, Hymeris was a kind and delicate man. She did quite enjoy showing him how to find and gather food. He didn't very much like to get his hands dirty. His loss took a great toll on Shirin, and his face will forever haunt her nightmares.

Anette Venera || Friend || DeceasedA beautiful woman who loved her husband dearly, Anette reminded Shirin a great deal of her own mother. Though pregnant, she trudged on alongside her family without complaint. And she even had a knack for trapping animals. She was shy and somewhat timid, but her heart was pure, and her loss was great.

Martha Venera || Friend || DeceasedThe connection between these siblings is almost strange. He is her teacher, her sitter, the love when she has none. Without him, Shirin would have lost herself long ago. Without him, she would have never learned as much as she knows. She wishes it were she who lost the leg instead of him, but he always told her she was destined for great things.

Connor & Vivaryca Venera || Friends || DeceasedOf all her losses, it was that of the two children Shirin tried desperately to save that keeps her up at night. Her desperation to save them is still felt to this day, and the memory of their deaths has clouded the joy she felt from their lives.

Leatrix Harland || Friend || 25One of Shirin's only friends, Leatrix had offered her a position within Ebony, the new mercenary guild she had opened. Sadly, Shirin did not want to stay put and instead decided to keep moving. She misses Leatrix daily, but her desire to find what's out there is a greater drive than her desire to stay with a single friend.

...Byriarti...Male| Sunstone DragonA P P E A R A N C E​

This dragon is a bold creature, with scales the many different shades of sunsets, sunrises, and the flames of the great sky orbs. His hide shimmers a brilliant violet, the base color beneath thousands of thick, translucent scales that range from orange to red to gold to even tones of purple and pinks, the colors forever changing depending on the angle you look upon him.

From the back of his head is a crown of gleaming horns of gold and citrine, four pairs in total. From the base of his skull are strange, hair-like tendrils between his longest pair of horns, reaching all the way down his spine, to the very tip of his thick tail, growing to range from two feet to four feet long and ranging in color from gold to purple to pink. These tendrils, always moving, act like whiskers for the beast, feeling the heat of the sun and taking it into his body where, for some reason, his scales and hide fail to do. By far his most intriguing factor, however, are his eyes, which gleam the same stormy blue as Kaliduras, Shirin's brother, beneath which are patterns of dark purple scales, gleaming brightly in order to bring out the beauty of his gaze.

As a baby, Byriarti is much more slender and serpentine than usual, lacking in the typical bulk of the Sunstone Dragons. His violet hide is much more prominent, and his scales are somewhat dull and opaque, having not completely developed into their full beauty. His whiskers are particularly short, but they continue to dance with the strange heat of his body. An intelligent gaze follows Shirin wherever she goes, indifference shining through little balls of ice.​

P E R S O N A L I T Y​

Stubborn//Perverse​

As a baby, Byriarti is set in his ways, the instinct that drives him to think as he does held fast by strong roots within his mind. There are certain things that he believes that cannot be pulled from him. He does not move at an order, nor does he break under pressure. He holds firm and snaps back at what might snap at him. He is a creature of instinct and heat. It takes a great deal of respect - or pain - to make him bow. He tends to be unreasonable in his opinions, and sometimes his actions also show such, but as he grows older, this will slowly begin to change. His tenacity will remain, like the horns of a bull (or in this case, a dragon), but his unreasonable thoughts, opinions, and actions will become more thoughtful. His stubborness will slowly begin to turn in the way of protectiveness. A drive to love and protect those around him, no matter the cost. His instinct - his heat - will remain, but it will become a different kind of heat. He just takes some warming up to.
​

Stoic//Apathetic​

Byriarti whole-heartedly thinks that emotions are a human thing, and he despises almost all humans, believing them unworthy to be near the ground he and his clutchmates walk upon. His cold demeanor can sometimes lead to brawls with the others, and it can be very off-putting, seeing as he represents warmth and sunshine. Like his stubborness, these thoughts are instinctual, driven by the bloodline that had come before him. And like his perversity, it will become more reasonable, and his icy, indifferent gaze will become warmer, like the heart of his human.
​

Powerful//Intimidating​

Byriarti may not be a taller dragon, but his bulk more than makes up for his height. He holds himself with pride, using the factor of intimidation that his presence can sometimes bring to his advantage. He is powerful both mentally and physically, and he flaunts it with the greatest of ease. As a baby, he is rough and sometimes mean. As he grows older, his body becoming thicker, bolder, and brighter, his horrible attitude mellows out. However, he does not stop flaunting his great power. Instead, the flaunting only becomes more obvious.
​

Impulsive//Passionate​

While Byriarti would never admit to it, attempting to keep a hold of the cold, level-headed demeanor, he is, by his very nature, a passionate creature. Born of the fiery tears of the Goddess of the Suns, he is the manifestation of passion, heat, and sometimes love. He burns with an intensity that pushes him to make impulsive and oftentimes rash decisions about what goes on around him. He's not always as level-headed as he might seem to be, no matter how hard he tries to be.
​

Dutiful//Reverent​

Whether Byriarti wants to admit it or not, he has a deep, heartfelt respect for his Inhalla and all her decisions. While he is horrible about following orders when it comes to those given by humans, his love and respect for Inhalla drives him to make right choices. As a baby, his love is shown by his willingness to do tasks given by Nero. As he grows, he begins to find his own ways of pleasing Inhalla, and sooner or later, he'll find out that the best way to make Her happy is by making his human happy.
​

A T T R I B U T E S​

AbilitiesLight ~​

Like many Sunstone Dragons, Byriarti is blessed with the presence of Light the moment he hatches, his scales sparkling unnaturally with the dancing rays that come from seemingly nowhere. As he grows older, this ability will become more powerful, granting him many different abilities that not only use his naturally glowing body as a weapon, but the Light, itself, as such.
​

Bath of Light

The hairs that run along the spine of the Sunstone Dragon allow the creature to soak up the rays of the suns that break through the skies of Partheus. With each hour soaked into the fine hairs, fifteen minutes of energy is granted to the dragon for later use. At the minor or young stages of the dragon's life, this energy is strictly that - energy. It can be used if the dragon needs to stay awake for something important or wishes to spend more time with another. Many older dragons choose to use this energy to stay awake in the hours of the night when all others are sleeping.

At later stages, when the dragon has used the ability a great deal throughout its lifetime, the ability can begin to be used for more important tasks, such as advanced healing. In simple terms, the energy can become metabolism, allowing the dragon's body to heal at an accelerated rate. The most well-versed Sunstones in this ability can even harness energy from the moon. However, moon beams aren't as strong, and it takes twice as much time to soak up the same amount of energy

All Sunstone Dragons have this ability. The maximum energy storage begins at one hour and can advance with time and practice.

Magnification

Taking upon the light of the suns and the natural gift of Light often granted to this noble breed of dragons, Sunstones are able to cast a beautiful glow of light from their bodies. Not only are their bodies built to harness and magnify the light, but their magic allows them to enhance this effect. If a dragon trains in this natural ability, they are able to create a magnification strong enough to blind or even burn enemies using any part of their bodies. Their tails and wings seem to be the best tools for the job.

Sunburst

The most important ability in Byriarti's arsenal, however, is his Sunburst. This ability is unique to the old soul taken from another world and originally designed for another breed. Classified as an enhanced version of Magnification, Byriarti has the ability to create flames using the heat of the light that is taken within his scales and cast out. The temperature of the air rises to extreme levels, and for a moment, he is surrounded by a field of gasses and heat that makes him look like a ball of fire much like the suns. This ability can only be used a few times before it begins to harm his own body, and if he uses it in extreme duress, he has the chance of killing himself with it.

​

Strengths​

Thick Hide- Byriarti has a strange mutation that makes his scales and hide thicker than normal, allowing him for better armor in all areas.

Strong Jaw - Being one of the bulkier dragons, Byriarti has an unnaturally strong jaw that allows him to crush his foes and spit them out without a thought.

Tail & Talons - With talons like large razors made of white-hot obsidian and a thick, bulky tail, Byriarti enjoys creating havoc by simply attacking, saving his breath weapon for later.

Weaknesses​

Thick Hide - Due to the strangely thick hide, Byriarti is unable to soak up the sun through regular means, instead relying completely on the whiskers that run along his back, making for his Bath of Light ability to happen much less often than the typical Sunstone Dragon.

Sensitive Whiskers - The strange, feather-like strands that run along his back are sensitive to everything around him, and though with training he can learn to keep from jumping when he touches something he's not expecting, the grasping of multiple strands at the same time is extremely painful, making the beast oddly obedient...if it means you'll let him go.

Veins of Plasma- When Byriarti is about to use his breath weapon, the build-up shows up along his hide like veins that glow orange and gold. It is at that moment that one can strike one of the veins and render him severely wounded or, if hit just right, mortally wounded. When he does use his breath weapon, he runs the risk of it hurting him if he doesn't use it correctly.

Size & Flight - Because Byriarti is a bulkier beast, he is certainly not one of the best fliers. Though he can fly better than a beast who prefers the earth, Byriarti is not nimble. You certainly won't see this big fellow doing loops or barrel rolls unless absolutely necessary...perhaps not even then.

Afraid of the Dark - Like all Sunstone Dragons, Byriarti is deathly afraid of the dark. This is particularly troublesome in his early years when his body does not glow as well as it will later. Once his body reaches its normal glowing state, he will really only find Darkness when the Element has been cast upon him.

Night- Born in the light of the two suns, Sunstone Dragons are not built to stay awake at night, and Byriarti is no exception. When the suns are up, he has a great deal of energy, even right after hatching. But when the suns go down, he nearly goes comatose due to the weight of the night. However, because of his lineage, he has the possibility of training himself to stay awake. It will just take a great deal of time and effort.

​

RIDER

Name: Chandrakant "Chandra" RamaAge: 26Gender: MalePlace of Origin:

Height: 6'4"Weight: 195 lbsHair: Dark brownEyes: Black​

Appearance
Tall, dark, and lovely, Chandra has the build and posture of a willow tree, with lean rather than bulky muscle, and a light, graceful stance that belies a firm strength. Dark brown, nearly black hair cascades down to his mid-back in gentle waves, though it is often tied up in either a braid or topknot when loose locks are an inconvenience. For someone who leads such an active lifestyle, the man is typically very conscientious of the condition of his hair and general person, taking care to keep himself clean and well-groomed. From out of his flowing mane glitter two black eyes framed by dark lashes and thick eyebrows, a strong, straight nose, and full lips. At first glance, Chandra has a flawless, dark complexion, though upon closer inspection one will find light freckles peppering his cheeks and forehead. [x]

It is a rare occasion to see Chandra deviating from his typical wardrobe of a black tunic, breeches, scarf, and fur vest; disliking formality, he prefers simple, dark attire that allows him to traverse the night unnoticed. A belt containing various small and useful items such as a knife, some fishing line, feathers for arrows, etc. is slung around his waist, and a spare dagger is concealed within his right boot for desperate situations. If one were to push up the sleeves of his tunic, they would find two swirling scars starting from his shoulder blades and spiraling down each arm, culminating in a single line around his wrists like two silver bracelets. An uglier, less intentional scar mars his chest and lower neck, evidence of a crude knife fight many years ago, and a chunk of his upper left ear is missing as a result of that same fight. Despite scars that imply a tumultuous past, the man's face is as smooth and serene as still water: not angry, not particularly friendly, but calm and without tension.

PersonalityConsiderate//Compassionate
On the rare occasion that Chandra chooses to interact with others, it is with the utmost attention and consideration. He listens with his entire being, keeping quiet, staying focused on the other person, and only responding in a way he feels will improve the situation. Because he knows this level of attention makes some people uncomfortable, the man is usually very quiet and somewhat hesitant to approach others, instead preferring they approach him- but not unwilling to reach out if necessary. As someone whose life has been filled with oppressed, broken people, Chandra finds it easy to adore and feel compassion toward those around him. He is a kind-hearted, gentle soul, and is always willing to devote his time and energy to those in need.

Conscientious//Disciplined
When Chandra makes a decision, speaks, or even moves, it is only with careful deliberation. Every movement has a purpose, flowing smoothly into the next, and every word has been placed carefully into a larger framework directed toward a single intent. It is immediately obvious to the average onlooker that this man has an enormous sense of self-discipline and control: his entire body absorbs information like a sponge, but divulges nothing. Organized, focused, and always well-prepared for what is to come, Chandra makes an incredibly trustworthy, dependable figure.

Intuitive//Aware
With a natural aptitude for understanding people, it is easy for Chandra to intuitively connect to those around him, often arriving at an answer to a situation or problem without using a distinctly logical reasoning process. He picks up on subtle verbal and body cues, and can adapt his manner to best fulfill what is needed of him at the time, almost invariably devising the most proper and appropriate way of dealing with an obstacle. Despite a quiet demeanor, the man has a natural sensitivity and interest toward other people, and possesses the tact to handle even the most unappealing of characters gracefully.

Introverted//Reserved
Although he is blessed with a great understanding for people, Chandra is decidedly introverted, and feels greater peace when alone or with another person than with a larger group of people. When upset, he prefers to work through any internal feelings by himself, and takes solace in the small four-walled room that is his home and security. Because he is so closely invested in the lives of his peers, needing to "recharge" periodically comes as a great frustration to the man, who wishes he were able to spend more time with others without losing so much personal energy. In addition, Chandra's reserved manner makes him a somewhat less approachable figure than he would like to pose; although a generally gracious man, it may take some initiative on behalf of others in order to discover his true demeanor.

Detached//Aloof
Because he is so strongly introverted, Chandra comes off as detached to the casual observer, more focused on his own affairs than on those of others. His generally expressionless face betrays none of the interest he has in his peers, causing him to seem distant when in reality the man is always very strongly connected to his surroundings. Those that do not take the time to understand such a patient man are missing out on a wealth of kindness and loyalty.

Skills & Abilities

Blessed Bow // As an individual who has lived on vast, open plains for the majority his life, Chandra is accustomed to hunting with ranged weapons, namely the bow and arrow. He is fairly skilled in both accuracy and precision, and can shoot while moving quickly and under other adverse conditions.

Dancer's Feet // Since he was a child, the man has always been light on feet, and is a generally quick and agile figure. It takes excessive force to throw him even slightly off-balance, which comes in handy during hunting, sparring, and even dancing.

Steady Hands // Even when under high-stress situations, Chandra's hands work deftly, diligently, and without faltering. He can weave a basket, tie any knot known to man, or re-string a bow in surprisingly little time.

Gift of the Moon // After the Pact, Chandra will possess the ability to "re-charge" in small amounts in the presence of moonlight, accelerating healing, curing illnesses, and generally making him less tired and more alert. Eventually he will be able to channel this energy into his hands, making them a soft light source in times of darkness. He is also able to see extremely well in the dark, recognizing obstacles and sensing movement long before normal humans would be able to.

Spirit Child // With the help of his Element, Chandra will be able to raise other's spirits with just a touch of the hand, and, later, by just being near them. He will possess the power to calm nerves, bring sleep, inspire valor, and wipe depression and anxiety from one's weary soul, cleansing it and leaving the subject more invigorated than ever before. This can be of use in situations when one is crippled by fear, or suffering from a bad memory of the past.

Strengths

Life Support // While Chandra appears slight, he has a vast knowledge of plant and animal life, is swift and intelligent, and possesses a strong will. He is a quiet leader in troubled times, and will give his life to help another survive in adverse situations.

Still Waters // Chandra is nearly incapable of violent anger; his strengths lie in his cool, calm, and collected demeanor. Even when others grow too upset to function, the man will be there with a clear head and a patient, understanding perspective.

Speed Demon // With deft feet and a heightened sense of body-awareness, Chandra is able to move in a fast, easy way, and rarely loses his balance or falters in aim. He is also extraordinarily quick-witted and quick to pick up on changes in his environment.

Magic // Because of his Dragon and his unique upbringing, Chandra has a healthy respect for magic, and possesses a natural aptitude for it as well.

Weaknesses

Sunlight, Too Bright // If exposed to strong sunlight for too long, Chandra develops painful rashes, and burns despite a darker skin tone. His eyes start to water excessively, and he becomes more and more irritable as time passes.

Moonlight Depravity // However, if kept in complete darkness, the man loses his will to live and fight. He needs exposure to the moon from time to time to keep his spirits high; that being said, he is more stable during times of the full moon, and substantially less collected during the new moon.

Reclusive // When faced with worries or personal hardship, Chandra will keep his emotions locked away and refuse to inconvenience anyone for help. His natural instinct is to hide it, and, in the worst case scenario, hide himself should he lose his composure.

Stone-faced // Although the man has a bottomless compassion, his face does not betray any emotion, making him a less-than-approachable figure to the common passerby.

Insomnia // Chandra is most alert at night, but somehow cannot seem to sleep during the day, either. This can be exhausting, especially in times of stress, and makes him less patient than he ordinarily would be.

Swordplay // With such strong archery skills, Chandra has little use for swordplay- and his poor swordsmanship shows it. His ordinarily-dexterous feet become clumsy under the weight of a sword, and his bodily perception is severely weakened.

Spirit-lifter // With every use of his power, Chandra will experience a temporary feeling of heavy-heartedness and depression, though he chooses to hide his pain to spare others the guilt. If used too many times in succession, this spiritual toll can leave his body physically exhausted, and incapable of doing much more than sitting quietly. However, the effects of this ability can be mitigated by the company and support of good friends and his dragon.

Brief History

Humans of the Great Plains of Varons are as grey and unchanging as the landscape around them, and the family of Chandrakant Rama was no different. "Family," of course, is a loose term to describe the nomadic tribe into which the child was born, a collection of hardened men and women whose sole purpose in life was to survive in the only way they knew how: by trading. A successful tribe pushed the desert border for valuable goods while carefully avoiding the dangerous Ovati and Myzra elves, not to mention several species of territorial sand dragons, only returning to their home in the Plains when the desert had all but exhausted their resources. This way of life had lasted for centuries, with countless clans and motley groups wandering the border between the deserts of Kabola and the Plains, trading spices, silks, dyes, and salt between one another and occasionally traveling down to Pavire to exchange their wares for valuable supplies. Although most caravans carried expensive goods like finely dyed fabrics and rare earth metals, the nomads traveled in simple attire to blend into the tall grasses, spoke briefly to one another due to the sheer exhaustion of walking for miles at a time, and expended as little energy as possible in other day-to-day activities. Despite this crass lifestyle, the people of the Plains were fiercely loyal to their clans, to their trade, and to the swirling grasses they managed to call home.

As was the case with most children, Chandra was not raised by two parents so much as he was raised by his entire 40-member clan. Unlike most children, however, Chandra possessed a softness to him that would not be eroded away by even the most violent of twisters. Only the little dark-eyed boy with freckles coating his face would stand up for those weaker than him, sharing food portions when needed and performing other small acts of kindness that his peers drank up like water to a parched, dry earth. Regardless, as Chandra matured he realized that his differences, while undoubtedly helpful to those around him, were not celebrated or welcomed among his people. Instead, they marked him as an outsider, one whose uniqueness had no place in the uniform silver grasses of the Plains.

Even so, the dark-haired, freckled boy grew into a dark-haired, freckled man who towered above his peers both in terms of stature, skill, and leadership, though he was still somewhat ostracized by the young adults that should have been his friends. Chandra, however, was unmoved by his loneliness, as the solitary life suited his quiet, peaceful demeanor. He took care of the elderly in his tribe, who adored his sweet nature and called him "grandson" as a term of endearment, and the rising man learned much from their wisdom. He earned his swirling arm scars during a ceremonial transition to manhood at the age of 15, marking his place in the clan as a capable adult with the new responsibility of joining the trading caravan to Pavire. It was on his very first expedition to the trading city that Chandra met the first and sweetest love of his life, Aishani.

She was standing amidst a sea of brightly dyed cloth, her loose-fitting clothes of a plain grey material but her headscarf a beautiful blend of jewel-toned fabrics. Long, curly hair the color of wheat sprung out from beneath her scarf, and two eyes as black as night glittered at the bustling market around them with a sharp, intelligent gaze. Her skin was smooth, the color of coffee, a stark contrast to the golden ringlets that framed her long face. She could not have been more than 14, but she was, by far, the most beautiful creature Chandra had ever laid his eyes upon.

It took several days in Pavire for the dark young man to approach the apple of his eye, but once Chandra finally managed to introduce himself (fumbling miserably the entire time), the pair found that they had an instinctive, strong connection, and were inseparable for the remainder of their time together in the trading city. When it was finally time for Chandra's trading caravan to depart, the two sweethearts decided that a future together was futile when they were both so young, inexperienced, and had only known one another for a few days at best; and so, with heavy hearts and watering eyes, the pair split up to follow their respective caravans into the Cornan desert, each secretly believing they had just made the worst mistake of their life.

It wasn't six months until another trading caravan was due for Pavire, and Chandra eagerly volunteered for the arduous journey in the hopes of seeing Aishani again. For six months he had thought of nothing but her charm, her wit, her beautiful black eyes and golden hair- he obsessed over her during every waking hour, and dreamed of her in his sleep, further isolating himself from the other youths of his tribe. Days passed in the trading city without a glimpse of her, however, and after around two weeks Chandra knew that his love was not meant to be. With a heavier heart than ever before he packed up his tribe's wares and quietly, morosely, left the city.

Not three steps out of the gates of Pavire, however, a familiar voice cried out from behind him: "Chandrakant!" Without a second thought the dark young man turned and left his clan to hold a head of golden curls against his chest, his freckled face broken into a joyous smile. Against all odds, it was her. Against all odds, fate had brought the two young lovers back together.

Later Chandra would feel guilt at having abandoned his home tribe so willingly, but his love and intentions were pure and free of fault. He and Aishani were married in Pavire and bought a shack with what little money they had individually accumulated, and started their new life together. Chandra crafted bows in a weaponry, and his dear wife dyed and wove cloth for a living. For two years, they were supremely happy. For two years, nothing in the world existed but their love. For two years, nothing could have possibly gone wrong.

Just as she turned 16, however, Aishani contracted a deadly illness that was sweeping across the Plains of Varon like wildfire at the time, rendering her bedridden for many, many weeks. Chandra poured all of his time and resources into providing her with the best care possible, and, miraculously, Aishani pulled through. When she finally woke almost three months later, however, the young woman found that she no longer had the use of her legs. Devastation kept her bedridden for many weeks to follow, though Chandra was as patient as a man could have possibly been. He stimulated her sore muscles daily, carried her around their shack when she wanted to leave bed, and danced with her in his arms as if she were no heavier than a feather. Even so, Aishani's unhappiness led her husband to sell their shack, use the money to buy an old Windlark, and depart with his wife across the Plains in search of a less oppressive environment.

The couple found their new home in a small village between Pavire and Lortania, with green fields and breezy cottages that suited their needs perfectly. No longer did Aishani feel ashamed to be seen outside their home; the residents of the small village were quiet, minded their own business, and treated one another with respect, not gossip. Chandra even had an elaborate, wheeling chair designed for his wife, giving her the freedom to move about their home without his help. Newly empowered, Aishani took up weaving again, and Chandra gained an apprenticeship at a local medicine shop. Despite the hardship they had been through, despite the horrendous death they had seen, the couple were happy because they had each other, and that was more than enough.

Around the fifth anniversary of their marriage, sudden joy struck the small family when Aishani realized that she was pregnant. The next nine months passed in a blurry, wonderful haze, until finally Leila Rama came into the world kicking and screaming, little dark curls plastered to her beautiful head. Chandra had never felt such happiness in his entire life; Spirit cradled his soul and lifted it higher than it ever had before ... in preparation for the sorrows that were to come.

The freckled man was bouncing his bubbling one-year-old on one knee as his wife cooked dinner in their brick oven, admiring the little girl's beautifully braided black hair and marveling, as he did every day, at the blessing that was his life, when a curious noise drew him to the window of their simple cottage. A few moments after peering out into the courtyard, Chandra quickly covered his child's eyes and took control of his wife's chair, leading her with urgency to the back door of their home. "Chandra! What is the matter!" She spoke incredulously, though the amusement drained from her voice as soon as she had seen her husband's unnaturally pale face. Unbeknownst to her, through the window Chandra had watched three Tarjan soldiers strike and kill the family's elderly Windlark, Hosia, with only a few swipes of their wickedly sharp swords as three dozen more men in armor marched down the road.

The Tarjan army had decided to try and seize control of the trading system lining the Cornan desert, in doing so gaining access to valuable spices, metals, and fabrics (and, in hushed tones, slaves) that would allow them to grow unrivaled in economic power on Partheus. Their strategy was to first claim the small village between Lortania and Pavire, giving them an easy route to either city once they had established their stronghold near the desert. Unfortunately, seizing the small village meant uprooting its residents- forcefully.

Stricken with panic, Chandra pushed his wife out of their home with one hand and and clasped their child close to his heart with the other, praying with everything he had to avoid the gaze of the many soldiers around them. For several minutes, they succeeded, but alas- the soldiers were many and the family were few, and it was not long before the freckled man was being beaten down in front of his wailing wife, who had just barely managed to snatch Leila from her husband's arms before a soldier had cracked him over the head with the butt of a sword. They beat Chandra until he could not stand, and then held him up with rough, unforgiving hands to watch the scene before him.

"How did a dusky desert rat like you manage to buy a house in a village like this?" One of the soldiers sneered, his alabaster skin slick with sweat. "Did you steal it from one of the legal citizens? Did you steal the Windlark we found outside?" It was then that Chandra realized that the men who surrounded him all possessed the dangerous combination of a fierce, unrelenting prejudice, and a sharp, aggravated sword. With fear in his eyes, he looked toward his terrified wife and child sitting not ten feet away. The soldier holding him up noticed.

"Is this your sister and little inbred child?" The man asked, his voice filled with hatred. A moment passed. "She's not bad looking for a rat," he added, staring at Aishani with lust- and at that Chandra cried out weakly. "Oh, you want her for yourself, then? Alright, how about the pup?" The soldier beckoned lazily, and two other men ripped Leila from her mother's trembling arms. Utterly powerless, Aishani sat in her chair and wept, keeping her horrified eyes on the silent child hanging by an ankle from the soldier's iron grip. For a few moments the weight of the situation hung in the air like a heavy blanket, quiet save the weeping of the golden-haired mother .. And then, Chandra leaped to action.

Calling on whatever strength was left in his body, the dark-haired man broke free of his captor's grip and lunged for his baby, though at the same time at least three soldiers leaped in his direction, knocking over Aishani's chair in the struggle. In slow motion, the man holding Leila released his hand, and the child fell down, down, down ... Chandra screamed. Little dark curls struck the ground with a sound he would never forget, and not a moment later his horrified face was pressed into the dirt with at least four men on top of him. Tears and blood leaked into the ground, one last sacrifice to a god who did not seem to be listening.

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS-"a loud crack echoed through the space, though from his position Chandra could not see what was going on. "Get up- get OFF OF HIM, I COMMAND." A tremendous weight was lifted from the shoulders of the desert-born man, and immediately he reached one very battered arm out toward his daughter, who was still lying on the ground, face-down. Before he could but touch her small wrist, two weathered but surprisingly gentle hands picked up the limp body and placed it into Chandra's waiting arms. Tears formed paths in the blood caked over the father's face, which was still with shock. All the man could do was stare up at the figure looming over him, although its attention was focused elsewhere. "Koschiek, you've been placed on probation and are now in bad standing until a proper hearing can be arranged. Take him away," the figure barked, and without another word the malevolent guard was swept up and walked away by the very guards he had pretended to command not ten minutes earlier.

The figure turned its head toward him, revealing a wrinkled face with hard lines and two ferocious blue eyes shining out of it, topped by a thick crop of white hair. Immediately the sour expression softened, and the commanding officer crouched down to help prop Chandra up, Leila still cradled in his arms. Nearby, Aishani had been replaced in her chair and was still weeping softly. At a loss for words, the desert man looked up at the officer, then down at his lifeless daughter, then back at the officer, though his vision was blurry. "She's still alive, son. We'll get her some help, don't you worry," the old man said, his voice gruff but not without sympathy. "This should not have happened- I ordered a peaceful occupation. We'll get you some help."

And, over the course of the next few weeks, the mysterious officer fulfilled his promise as best he could, even though no amount of medicine would be able to rectify a serious head injury to such a soft skull. Though Chandra needed time to recover from his own injuries, the process was not made any easier by the despondence of his wife and their very sickly one-year-old daughter. As soon as he was able, Chandra packed what few things his family had left, saddled it up on a young Windlark gifted by the commanding officer, and began to lead his wife and daughter on a journey to a small village in the mountains that, according to the officer (in hushed tones), might have the healers and medicines to fix his poor Leila. Risking her health on such a long journey was of concern, but it was a chance that he and Aishani agreed they had to take if they wanted their daughter to grow up in good health.

Leila never made it past Lortania.

It was several months later that Chandra arrived in Badova village with his wife in his arms, and by then they were both very changed individuals. The skin hung off of Chandra's bones like clothes on a drying rack, his hair brittle and sloppily woven into a plait. Scars and scabs littered his body with careless abandon, indicating dozens of small and large struggles alike, all conquered, even if barely. Aishani was a husk of her former self, so destroyed by her daughter's death that she seemed to have no life in her at all; her beautiful hair was missing chunks, and had streaks of grey where the sun should have sparkled off of the golden strands. Her dark eyes were listless, uncaring, miserable; she did not have the strength to continue living, so for weeks Chandra had been strong for the both of them. They had both aged ten years.

Starting a new life in Badova village was like settling into a hot bath after hours out in the cold: numbing, then incredibly painful, and, after some time, a relief to aching bones. The people of the tribe were unlike any other, supporting one another in hard times and extremely welcoming to all kinds of refugees, outcasts and derelicts. Although he came to appreciate and even love the tight-knit community in only a few short weeks, Chandra recognized that something had broken in his wife that would never allow her to find joy in life again. He took a job with a local medicine man, taking care of the village's elderly community just as he had done years before in his desert tribe- and took care of his wife along with them, spoon-feeding her broth and wiping her clean every night before braiding her hair and putting her to sleep. Aishani did not speak. She did not focus her gaze on anything aside from her husband's face on occasion, and even then her eyes were so full of sorrow that Chandra had to put his entire being into holding back the tears.

Aishani died when she was only 22, leaving Chandra a widow at twenty-three years old. Without anywhere to go, he remained in Badova village and continued to take care of its elderly, taking up small jobs here and there until he was a well-known and well-loved member of the community. Having gone through a similar experience himself, the dark man aided the village in treating refugees from the Tarjan army, welcoming them into his home and seeing that they received the attention they needed. He learned from the elders of Badova about the mystical dragons that used to dance for the village, and the stories they told gave him comfort in hard times. Chandra was in pain for a very long time, but eventually he found himself beginning to heal.

Then, some two years later, the tall, dark man heard the beginnings of a song in his head that would change his life forever.

​

DRAGONName: Sanyuine (Sahn-U-Een) "San" or "Yue"Gender: FemaleAppearance
With a long, snakelike body and a shimmering silver pelt, Sanyuine is lovely to look upon by human, elven, and dragon standards alike. Her scales are very small and look like white, shining crystals at close range, giving her every motion an extra shine akin to the glistening of a winding river. Added to this effect is the soft glow her skin emits even in the darkest of nights, lending her surrounding area a hazy, silver light much like a dimmer version of the three moons. Streaks of greens, blues, and purples run through her pelt, giving her the iridescence of the fabled Moon Lights when she can be persuaded to remain still. Thin legs are ended in larger, birdlike, golden scales, with three dextrous digits and wickedly sharp silver claws. The dragoness's head is decorated with a crown of small, silver horns, and a mane of silver feathers that shine in different shades of blue depending on her surroundings. A narrow muzzle is adorned with two shining golden eyes, different from the typical icy coloring of her species- perhaps due in part to the close relationship she has with her Sunstone brother.

PersonalityAnxious//Restless
Though many dragons possess a calming effect on their riders, Sanyuine and Chandra have an opposite relationship. While she generally likes people and has friendly intentions, the dragoness is incredibly uncomfortable around humans and feels timid near other dragons as well. She cannot control her fidgeting when feeling cornered, which happens fairly often, and relies both on Chandra and her brother as sources of social strength.

Detached//Wary
Sanyuine is plagued with a chronic paranoia that makes it difficult for her to form close attachments. She is constantly suspicious of others' intentions, and often needs to check and double-check with Chandra to verify another rider's good character. This contrasts Chandra's easily-trusting nature, and the two do well to keep one another balanced.

Cool//Controlled
Much like her rider, Sanyuine is typically very controlled both in her movements and in her words, choosing to fly high into the sky if antsy, and remain quiet if uncertain. That being said, this is not a dragon that succumbs to violent urges or speaks out of turn often, if ever. Having Chandra close increases Sanyuine's patience and tends to stabilize her mood even further, but if separated the Moonstone's nerves fray much more quickly than usual.

Thoughtful//Intelligent
Though she chooses to stay silent more often than not, Sanyuine reveals herself as a deep, critical thinker when she does happen to speak. Her mind is constantly alight with new thoughts and ideas, and she can follow even the most intricate of conversations with relative ease. The still surface does not betray the constantly moving waves below.

Unsociable//Pessimistic
Unlike Chandra, Sanyuine has a generally pessimistic view of the world and everyone in it. She is naturally untrusting in herself and in others, and will believe the worst in any situation if given no immediate alternative. Given that this is an especially difficult personality trait, she does not tend to interact with other humans or dragons unless the interaction is mediated by her rider. She is, however, slightly more comfortable around elves due to the respect and reverence they show her.

Abilities

Sonic Screech // When confronted with unavoidable danger, Sanyuine is capable of releasing an incredibly high-pitched, ear-splitting scream that, if sustained for long enough, can kill nearly any creature smaller than her and severely stun all others. She is extremely reluctant to use this ability, however, and uses it as a last-ditch effort to escape.

Gift of the Moon // As a Moonstone dragon, Sanyuine is able to absorb the light of the moon and channel it into energy stores for herself (and, later, for Chandra as well). Later, as her powers mature, San will be able to convert this energy into healing power, increasing her metabolism and advancing her body's natural repair process. During the full moon this ability is at its peak, and it is nearly impossible to seriously injure or exhaust the young dragon.

Spirit Singer // Sanyuine's voice has the potential to destroy- and to soothe. Any creature that hears her "song" will feel their spirit being instantly lifted, which comes in handy during difficult situations such as battles or other times of stress. This song can also be used via mindspeak, and can even lull others to sleep if used correctly.

Strengths

Quick, small, agile // Sanyuine's body is serpentine in nature: long, slender, and perpetually winding back and forth when in flight. Combined with her speed and agility, his makes her an incredibly difficult target to hit by even the most skilled magic-wielders. She is also able to fit in narrower places than the other dragons, and her small, smooth scales allow a much wider range of motion.

Protective Skin // With a strong magical coating, Sanyuine's skin is impervious to most types of physical offensive attack.

High-flyer // Moonstone dragons can fly even higher than Mercury dragons, and Sanyuine is certainly no exception. She can soar higher than the clouds, allowing her to avoid attacks or gain a wider range of vision when scouting.

Quiet Light // Much like other members of her species, Sanyuine always shines with a soft, silvery light that only dims when she is physically or mentally injured. This light, while making her more visible on nights of the new moon, can also confuse her attackers, especially when combined with her winding, snakelike flight pattern.

Weaknesses

Sunlight, Too Bright // Although her skin is enveloped by a strong protective barrier, it is still extremely sensitive to sunlight. Sanyuine cannot live without the light of the moon, but burns and withers in the sun; ten minutes of continued exposure will scorch her scales, and in twenty minutes the sun will begin to melt her very flesh. With continued practice a kind of tolerance may be built, but she will still need to be very careful during the daytime for the rest of her life.

Pacifist // Sanyuine cannot stand conflict, and will instinctively panic and try to escape if confronted with violence. She cannot be relied upon in battle to fight in the same way as her brother and his rider can; and, indeed, does not possess the physical ability to sustain an attack for long.

Moon Deficiency // If kept in absolute darkness for too long, the Moonstone dragon will begin to wilt and die much like its Sunstone counterpart. Sanyuine needs to "re-charge" herself in the light of the moon, and is more prone to illness and injury during times of the new moon.

Misunderstood // With such a reclusive, untrusting personality, Sanyuine is easily misunderstood and has a particularly difficult time cooperating with others. This has the potential to be a fatal flaw come times of battle or extreme stress.

Small In Size // Although her skin is resistant to mortal weapons, Sanyuine is still susceptible to attacks from other dragons; and, at a smaller size than most of her peers, she stands a greater chance of being seriously injured as a result of a direct hit.

Feathers // Unlike some of the other dragons, San has feathers decorating her crown and spine, which contain small, ultra-sensitive nerve tendrils that absorb moonlight and otherwise help to regulate her light intake. If these feathers are damaged or grasped firmly, it would seriously irritate the young dragon and send her into a painful state of panic.

RIDER
Name: Ryyker
Age: 25
Gender: Male
Place of Origin: Taval
Height 5’10
Weight 186 pounds
Hair: Black with a pony tail going halfway down his back
Eyes: Green
(Despite the picture saying its blue hair and red eyes)
Appearancehttps://i.ytimg.com/vi/EP4BriB-9hw/maxresdefault.jpg
(Fate stay Night Lancer)
Personality
Honorable: Ryyker is a honorable person if he says he will do something he will and he always keeps his word.
Practical: Thinks of everything in a practical manner he doesn’t deal in chance.
Kind hearted: He has a kind heart and always seems to help someone out. As long as he can stay out of the thick of things and not be noticed.
Prideful: He is very confident in his skills and dosnt believe that he could ever lose.
Greedy: He loves to have the money due to the fact that he grew up with very little money.
Skills & Abilities
Two handed fighting expert: He is highly trained in two handed fighting with his two long swords.
Darkness magic: Ryyker has heard a voice all his life he believed he was just crazy and made up a dark voice so he would be so lonely but at times he can seem to walk into a shadow and end up down the street from where he was or suddenly he has a chain coming out of his hand and wrapped around something.
Shadow walk: A passive power that allows Ryyker to freely walk from one shadow to another that he can physically see. Quite useful for getting to places quickly and to get behind people or hard to reach places perfect for ambushs.
Shadow chains: Later on when hes been able to learn more about the shadows he can make them take a more physical form such as chains being the most commons sometimes with blades at the tips shoot from his hands to wrap around a limb to trip them trap them and in some cases end up hanging them causing death.
He has yet to learn this power.
Strengths:
Speed and agility: Ryyker doesn’t wear any armor because it would slow him down Ryykers fighting style relies on attacking quickly and moving so his opponents attacks don’t hit him. He also moves quickly with ease and precision.
Companions: Ryyker has begun to understand what Orthrax wants to say just by her stance and movements this allows her and Ryyker to work as a cohesive unit without needing to say anything to each other and they understand what the other plans on doing. Orthrax knows how Ryyker ambushes due to the fact he taught her how to hunt prey in the swamps comparing it to his life in Taval.

Weaknesses:
Teamwork: Ryyker isn’t good at working with people he doesn’t know he doesn’t really trust them which may make his hesitate to follow any plans they make.
Cant take jokes: If someone tries to joke about Ryykers skills he may take it personally and could start a fight or cause a job to fail because someone decided to insult his skill.
Fear of the depths: Ryyker fears the deep waters of the ocean he cant see the bottom he also doesn’t know what’s down there but he wont let anyone know he’s afraid.
“I’m not afraid I’m just sea sick.”
No armor: Since Ryyker sacrificed protection for speed any hit he takes will hurt him since he dosnt have any armor to protect him.

Brief History
Ryyker grew up in the gutter of Taval and had to learn to live by being a scavenger, And had to learn to survive in the streets of Taval he was taken taken in by a older man named Jaralaxe who was a dark monk he was kicked out of the group for fighting outside of the monastery which was against the rules he also took drugs and drank to numb his senses to pain or make him feel stronger which gave him the edge in battles after being banished Jaralaxe broke in and killed the head monk in a battle and is now wanted for murder. Jaralaxe then had a small business agreement with a trio of girls Jinx she dealed in drugs and had Jaralaxe work as a body guard her sisters had different skills such as Scarlet who was a weapon master.
Ryyker caught the eye of Jaralaxe when he escaped from the city locals who he stole food from, Jaralaxe saw a business opportunity with the kids on the streets they could steal and escape like no adults could so he went around the city picking up kids, with the promise of a place to stay and food to eat as long as they did as he said. Jaralaxe rounded up about ten kids in total but only three of them stood out Nova a young girl two years younger the Ryyker, she was quite good at causing distractions by getting attention by either faking getting hurt or by knocking a cart over, which allowed kids like Ryyker to steal the items that Jaralaxe wanted. And in case people were able to keep up with the little thief’s Jaralaxe had a big kid by the name of Rivan two years older then Ryyker fight them off, Rivan could take a lot of hits but he could hit just as hard.
As the years went on Jaralaxe started to train the three kids in combat to see where their skills were it seemed that Ryyker was pretty good at using two weapons, so Jaralaxe made a deal with the weapon master Scarlett to have her train Ryyker at the age of 8 to use two blades she agreed as long as she got a cut of the profits that Jaralaxe made. Scarlet made a mistake telling Ryyker about the fact that one store had two rare katana’s and those would be great weapons for Ryyker set up a plan to steal them not a very good plan considering Jaralaxe made all the earlier plans. So Ryyker broke into the store at night and alerted the owner who sent his dogs after him, Rivan was worried about Ryyker not being back and went to search for him and saw dogs chasing him and a man with a sword, Rivan who was like the big brother couldn’t bear to have another one of his family killed rushed the man and tackled him into a wall, and grabbed to dog by the tail yanking it back and gouging out one eye before yelling to Ryyker to run but the man stabbed his sword into Rivans back piercing his heart. Ryyker thought he could still save Rivan so he drew the two katana’s and rushed back taking the dogs head off before having a sword fight with the man and the hits Ryyker scored began to add up and Ryyker was able to slash the mans neck with his blades, just as Nova and Jaralaxe arrived, they then took Rivan back to Jaralaxe’s base but it was too late Rivan was dead. Jaralaxe scolded Ryyker on his terrible plan since it ended Rivans life.
Ryyker continued to train with his new blades under, And on one day while Ryyker and Nova were heading to Scarlets to learn more combat skills a group of thugs attacked Ryyker and Nova they beat Ryyker pretty bad before taking Nova and gang raping her before think that with her looks and body she would make them a lot more money as selling her off as slave or selling her to someone for a week or so and they could do anything sexually they wanted with the young cute girl there were a lot of bandits and guys who wanted a girl to do all kinds of disgusting things. Once Ryyker was able to move again he tried to track them down and ended up in a gutter in the. He was able to find the thugs and was able to fight and defeat them all and Nova got away in all the confusion. Ryyker felt like something was calling him he followed it and found a black looking rock and when he touched it started to crack and out came a black lizard. Ryyker felt some kind of connection with this creature and he felt that he and this creature were brought together by fate and felt like they had somewhere they needed to go.
Ryyker decided to call the creature Orthrax and began training her how to hunt using Orthrax seemed to prefer to drag her prey into trees when possible when she wasn’t jumping into lakes and rivers and coming out with fish.
And then Ryyker ran into someone.

Spoiler(Move your mouse to the spoiler area to reveal the content)Show SpoilerHide Spoiler

All she had to go on was the iron scent hanging in the air and some red spotted leafs marking the trail of the animal. It was wounded and it was big. And to Hana that was a chance to a proper meal for the first time in days.
The girl was ill equipped to handle living outside a town and so far only berries, some plants and one or two small animals caught by Myria had filled their diet along with the bread she brought from town.
And now her stomach growled and the mouth watered at the thought of actual meat as she pushed the branches of a bush aside and hastily wandered in the tracks. Finally, she caught a fresh look at it far ahead.

The antelope was taking its final breaths by a big rock slowly bleeding out from a deep gash into its side. It was amazing how far it had managed to move and now Hana had a chance to nourish herself with its energy as it passed away. Hurrying up to the fallen creature it's final breath left it, the stomach sinking and the head falling to rest in the grass.
Myria stirred in the wrapped rags on Hana's back awoken by the smell of food and something else, the small creature let out a warning sound to her partner who quickly moved to the other side of the animal searching what few rags covered her body for the small weapon she had whilst turning around.

Ryyker was laying in the tree him and Orthrax decided to take for the night, but Ryyker sits up as soon as he relished he could smell blood, Orthrax lifted her head also and Ryyker looked around for it and say that it was an antelope that was breathing heavily under his tree. What a stroke of good luck he hasn't had, meat in a long time. Ryyker drew a sword from its sheath and leaped from the tree slashing his sword down on the Antelopes neck taking the head off. He raises his hand in victory. "Hey Orthrax looks like we will eat good the next couple days."

Ryyker was laying in the tree him and Orthrax decided to take for the night, but Ryyker sits up as soon as he relished he could smell blood, Orthrax lifted her head also and Ryyker looked around for it and say that it was an antelope that was breathing heavily under his tree. What a stroke of good luck he hasn't had, meat in a long time. Ryyker drew a sword from its sheath and sees a person run under his tree with a weird thing on their back, he drops out of the tree in clear view. "Who are you and what are you doing here."

The man came from above and landed in front of her instead of the expected approach from the bushes like she had thought.
She jolted back like a scared animal now holding her small knife in front of her, not answering his question but instead letting her eyes sweep the surroundings and then up at the tree without letting him fully out of her sight.
Is he alone? Why was he in that tree, oh crap is that another sword?
The thoughts swarmed her mind.
Getting meat would be nice but she wasn't foolish enough to chance her life over food against a foe that was clearly better equipped and in better shape than she was.

Not to mention Myria was getting upset only able to guess what was happening from Hanas back and the little hatchling was not happy with this. Twisting silently to get her head out for a proper look. well as long as she remains quiet this shouldn't get worse. The girl thought desperately trying to figure out how to escape without getting slashed.

Ryyker watch's the girl with her knife in front of her, keeping his swords at the ready. "You know there is enough meat her to feed the both of us I wouldn't mind sharing and that seems just about right when you did all the work but if not then we will just have to see how this goes." Orthrax was watching from the tree blending in to the shadows.

What he said sounded too good to be true to the girl, and she squinted her eyes at his words. But since he didn't seem all too eager to fight. Hana relented with a slow release of breath and gestured towards the animal with her knife. “Then, take what you need, and back off!” Forced to raise her voice to hide Myria’s increased frustration at not getting loose from the cloth. Hana gave it a hard nudge with her elbow, which caused the hatchling to curl up and shiver.

Though maybe it was good. She was standing in front of a man after all, and from what Hana knew most men where just trouble and pain. And coming of as aggressive could at times make them avoid a confrontation. The girl begun chewing on her lower lip from the stressful situation dragging on.

"Hey there is no need to be so mean here I mean you no harm, maybe you can help me out I seem to have trouble starting fires maybe you could give me some pointers?" Ryyker crouch's down near the dead animal and begins to cut pieces off. There was a little squeaking sound from the tree and Ryykers other hand goes to the hilt of his sword as he stares at the girl in front of him, waiting for a reaction.

Hana couldn't help to raise an eyebrow at the bizarre idea of them. Two complete strangers, and he pretty much asks her to stick around for dinner.
The thought of it is distracted however by the squeak coming from up the tree, Hana stares at the branches before she hears Myria let out squeak of her own in response to the other Hatchling. The situation was again moving towards being strange and a bit tense for both sides. Is that what i think it is?
Confused but also well aware of the man's now tense stare in her direction clearly showed that he wasn't too happy about this change.

Ryyker heard the squeak from the girl in front of him. "Is that sound what I think it is? If so we may have a common goal in mind, that is if you even know what the hell is going on, so why not stay and we can talk and find out what's going on because if we have a common goal in mind we may as well get to know each other and become partners."
"maybe" She responded to his question. Still his blunt way of suggesting things really rubbed her the wrong way, but she was curious on how this man had a lizard like the one following her around. And as much as this situation told her to bail like a thief. Curiosity reigned in her mind. "Fine i will help you with a fire, but keep your distance or i will cut you" She said with a warning tone not letting her guard down one bit except to glance at the tree and the creature hiding up there.

At least Myria seemed happy to have someone who understood her around though she still kept to the safe haven of Hanas back while making small sounds.

"Only a maybe that's too bad it’s always good to have partners you can rely on but I understand since neither of us knows each other. And don't worry I didn't plan on getting overly close with you. Mind if I see your lizard?" Orthrax was making small sounds in response to Myria. "If you do I'll have mine come down."

Hana didn't have much choice in the part of showing Myria or not. The little hatchling finally got its head free and peeked around Hana's waist, looking up at the tree. So far the man hadn't done anything stupid he wasn't likely to start anytime soon either.

"There it is, not hurried to see yours now about that dead animal" Hana felt annoyed towards his way of dealing with her, like she wasn't even much of a threat. She was more interested in the food now and her stomach's grumbling was reminding her of how hungry she really was.

Otrhrax uses its gripping claws to climb down the side of the tree looking Hanas way to see Myria but dosnt move any closer since Orthrax dosnt know Hana.

"Well there is mine, now if you want to start a fire then we can begin cooking this, if that sounds alright to you not that i really need an answer your stomach is speaking for you." Ryyker says remarking about the sound Hanas stomach was making.

Hana looked around before deciding on a spot and moved towards it leaving Ryyker to carry the meat, while she focused on making a place for the fire. It would take some time to get the fire started Hana wasn't very good herself with this, which dragged it out even more. Myria didn't stay in the rags any more but instead crawled out, and ran around gathering small twigs and branches. Small enough for her to either proudly carry or drag them towards the fireplace Hana had briefly dug into the ground.
But after many failed attempts a small flame slowly grew in size as the girl clumsily did her best to make it grow.

Seeing the girl walk away Ryyker assumed it was to find a good place for a fire, so he grabbed the dead animal and hoist it onto his back and follows her before dropping it to the ground. He decides to watch Hana try to make the fire so he can make it next time but sees that she isn't as good at it as he had hoped. "I see making fires isn't a talent that either of us seem to have." Orthrax seems to take an interest in Myria walking over to her and smelling her and walking around inspecting her.

Not really important to learn growing up in a city" Hana commented shortly while going through the sticks Myria had collected. The little hatchling was now busy with the other lizard investigating her.
The two circled each other curiously while the two Varionian's where busy figuring out how to cook the meat over the fire. To Hana the easiest way was to stick some meat to a stick and hold it over the fire until it seemed cooked enough. Grabbing some cut meat, the girl placed herself with the fire between them, and checked her knife once more.

Yeah the city life seems almost easy compared to living off the land now that I'm out here." Orthrax continues to study Myria occasionally looking to Hana and Ryyker as well. Seeing Hanas way of cooking Ryyker decided to follow and found out it was quite an easy way to cook it. "So you heading to the mountains as well?"

That is in the direction im heading" Hana replied vaguely before trying the meat. It was burnt in some places but the fat had protected the meat beneath it which had a rough but juicy taste. In short the girl found it quite delicious and ripped of a small bite for her small companion to try as well.
While observing Myria try the food the girl drifted a bit in thoughts on the journey forward, while the world outside the city had less people it also had less available food and warm places to sleep.
And now she also knew that many things she had learned in the city was of little aid out here and encountering others or animals was lower but also more likely to take her by surprise.

Glancing over the small fire at the man with his two swords, the idea of joining together wasn't that bad of an idea. They did have higher chances of surviving. But at the same time she knew nothing about him. "Perhaps i won't mind if we journey in the same direction that we also walk on the same path heading there" She muttered before reaching for more food.

Well then we do have the same direction in mind." Ryyker took a bite of meat and enjoyed it so he took some more meat and cooked it before handing the stick with the meat to Orthrax that Orthrax was eating enjoying the taste of it. "Well working together will increase our chances of survival and will have a good chance of catching more animals meaning we will have more food that will last us longer." Then took another bite of meat.

Satisfied having eaten something Hana curled up closer to the campfire making herself comfortable and nodded at his comments. For once getting to eat her fill and on meat only made the girl drowsy and she had to fight to keep her eyes open.
Ryyker's presence being a motivation to not fall asleep for good reasons., But even so her head soon leaned on her knees lulled to sleep by the calming sounds of burning wood.
Myria looked up at her travelling partner and then glanced at the other two before moving over to Hana crawling through the rags to curl up near the girl’s chest.
"Well if your sleeping on the ground I think I'm going go in the tree guess I'll see you in the morning." Ryyker begins to climb up into the tree with Orthrax doing the same but they are sleeping a little distance away from each other due to the acid that leaks from Orthraxs body.

Relationships
Jaralaxe 57: Mentor almost like a father Dark Monk expert fighter in fist to fist and weapons loves to fight, Drink, take drugs and have sex. Still in Taval
Nova 23: Partner/Girlfriend Even though they worked together it seems Ryykers and Novas relationship went even farther then just partners they seemed to start somewhat of a relationship and liked each other Nova even confessed her love to him when Ryyker was 16 and Nova was 14. Still in Taval.
Rivan Deceased: Like a big brother to Ryyker and Nova he was always the one looking out for them and trying to protect them the best he could being four years older then Ryyker he saw others die because of what they did to survive.
DRAGON
Name: Orthrax
Gender: Female
Appearance:http://gamehall.uol.com.br/selectgame/wp-content/imagens/rpg/dnd/black_dragon.jpg
Horns started out small and began to grow out at her current age the horns are now past her head.
Back spikes Orthrax had spikes growing down her spine are connected by a fin like webbing which tails her apart from males.
Her scales were dull black as a baby but have a green shine to them due to the acid her body leaks.
Orthrax was quite slender when she came out of her egg but her body has gotten more bulky and her muscles are clearly defined.
Her tail looked just like any other creatures but begin to take the shape like trident the same with her horns growing forward to look like a three tipped trident.
Her eyes shine a greenish gold color.
Her wings seems smaller then most dragons.
She seems like a quite powerful dragon being bulky and muscled.
Personality
Cruel: Orthrax is just downright mean torturing anyone that she captures before killing them and letting the body’s rot before eating them. She even gets snappy with the other dragons because they annoy the hell out of her.
Short temper: These other dragons are annoying as hell and just get on her nerves without even trying.
Greedy: Even though she is lazy any offer that can increase her hoard can help get her motivated to move.
Sadistic: Its already said that she is Cruel but Ortharax loves to inflict pain sometimes slowly killing them with her acid breath.
Masochist: Ortharax loves to inflict pain but she also loves to receive pain as long as the pain will not disable her.
Abilities
Swimming: Ortharax learned to swim in the swamps of the Black Bog and has become pretty good at this. She is also quite good at fighting while in the water seeming that she can move though it quickly while other dragons wings seem to slow them in the water.
Lurking ambush: Ortharax can blend into dark environments allowing her to attack from almost no where using her dark magic to further hide allowing her to attack at the best moment.

Strengths:
Under water battle: Orthrax can fight under water well since her wings are smaller and don’t hold her back as much and she can hold her breath.
Size: Orthrax being a black has her being quite bulky allowing her to deal a lot of damage and being able to take a lot back
Viciousness: Even though she’s small if you get Orthrax in a close fight she will claw bite and slam her tail into any body part that presents itself.
Gripping Talons: Even though she can slash with her Talons she can use them to grip onto walls and trees which she drag her prey up creatures that are the same size and sometimes bigger also uses them to tear chunks out of her opponent.
Ambush: Since Orthrax ambushes most opponents she is pretty skillful and being completely quiet until she attacks her opponent.

Weaknesses
In the moment: In battle Orthrax has the tendency to black out and enrages on certain foes, thus making her mutilate bodies without realizing she’s doing so.
Ambush: Orthrax is more timid to join a fight if she cant ambush to start it and may be to fearful to join the fight and if she does she may hesitate to attack giving her opponent the chance to counter attack or dodge her attacks.
Masochist: Orthrax may take some pain more as pleasure and let her opponent get more attacks in so she can enjoy the pain which may back fire in the end meaning she took to many hits or let the stronger attacks hit her.
Open skies: Orthrax isn’t used to flying shes used to swimming and climbing things with her claws making her quite clumsy when it comes to flying.
Deserts: The sand sticks to Orthrax and gets under her scales which is irritating to her.

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[BCOLOR=transparent][BCOLOR=inherit]RIDER[/BCOLOR][/BCOLOR]NameHanaAge19GenderFemalePlace ofOriginTaval - Nether regionsHeight167cmWeight47kgHairDark, LankEyesBlueAppearanceHana is an averagelengthgirlthatstandslight on herfeet, with long dark, strong hairthat covers her back all the way down to the hips. Her face is oval withhighcheekbones and a humbleforeheadwhichframes the Intenseblueeyesthatseems to noticeanythingthatenterstheirviewfollowed by a small nose and a mouthwithpout lips where the lowerone is often the target for somechewing.
Her skin tonecould be mistaken for a goodtanwithitscream like complexion and
fewscars break itssilkysurfaceexcept for the tracesof a whipalongherupper back and lowerneckcompleted by a tribal tattoo belowalong the curveofher back.
She is noticeably a womanevenif malnutrition hauntsherbodyslowing the healing ofbruises and cuts. A goodwash, freshclothes and foodwould do the girlwonders in terms ofphysicalappearance.​

PersonalityObservant - Hercarefulnature and curiosity has created a habit of observation in the girl. It'sfascinating to see a happy family pass by or merchantsselltheirgoods

Energetic - It’scurious as to whereshefinds the energy to keep on going yetshekeeps on finding it,

Wild - Hana is distrustingtowardsmostthingsaroundher and oftenhandlesthem in a fight or fleemanner,relyingmore on instinctsthenotherthoughts.

Distant - Shecanappeardetached at timesevenchildish for her age as that is the onlywayshe has learned to copewithsomethings in life.​

Simple - When the world is mostlystreets, dirt, food and dangerouspeople, thereisn'tmuchexpectationsoutoflife and some like Hanaaresatisfied as long as shecaneat, sleep and be comfortable,livingmore in the present then the past or the future.​

Skills & AbilitiesAir - Hana is not so much a user of her abilities but more like a dear friend protected by them. And with that the Element air has attached to the young female giving her favorable winds in her endeavors. As an untrained user Hana mostly has its subtle aid and mischief in daily life. Making difficult jumps with easy or getting away unscathed from a nasty fall.

Sound masking - It is possible for this girl to dampen sounds in her direct presence allowing her to sneak around people even if she gets really close.

Knifewielder - lackinganything real of a weapon and not having anyone to trainherhow to fight Hana has in someself-inventivewaydeveloped a knifecombat style thatcombinesher speed and reflexeswith holding a small sharpobject.
Body reader - Being observant and having a goodgraspofhersensesHanacan read the bodylanguageof a person or animal and is able to somedegree to determinewhat kind of action thatindividual is about to take.

StrengthsEvasive – Growing up as a girl on the streetsis aharsh experience and by luckHanaavoided to get draggedinto the typical trade of her gender. And as lifewouldhave it, continuing to avoidthisfatetrainedherbody and mind to be fast and nimble like that of wild animals.​

Physicality - Hana is driven by a strong instinctivewill to live and herbodyseemsstronglyresistant to mostthingslifethrows at it in forms ofmalnourishment, drugs and disease.​

Keensenses - Instinctshavebeen a greataid in Hana’slife and by relying on them it has developedthem and herability to applythem for survival and to read bodylanguage.​

WeaknessesUneducated - Hana has receivedclose to no education on anything.Herworld is mostly the city whereshegrew up and the talesheard from people in the taverns, sheknows no history, can’twrite nor read and whileshecancount it is as limited heruseof the languagebeyond the basics.​

Wild/Sociallyhandicapped - She is not good at dealingwithpeople and largegroupscan make herstressedenough to lashouteven at peoplesheknows. Her strong reliance on instincts is as much a strength as it is a weakness.​

Unpractised - Beyond having the physical means to defend herself Hana has no real combat training or knowledge. You cut it, it bleeds and usually then pulls away.

Traumatized - Whileshemightappear a happy girl on distancetherearemanysignsthatHana’s mind is hanging on a tread. Manytraumatizing events in herlifemighthave given her mind strengthbutthatstrength is shaped in bindingchains and brittlewalls.​

BriefHistoryHana is an orphanbarelyrememberinganythingaboutherparents, thoughshe has manythatcould be calledparents in herearlieryearsregardlessofthembeinggood or bad to her as shegrewup in the Taval slums.

Herlifedidn’t start in the slums however;herfamilyhadearned enough to live on the borderbetween the two parts of the city. But it was a satisfying deal to live there and Hanadid till shewasaboutfouryears old. Herownmemoriesof the timearevague and blurrybecauseofhowyoungshewas and because it was a veryhectic period ofherlife. The onethingshecanrememberclearly is the smellofsmoke and that in that incidentshehadbeenseparated from herfamily.
Pickedup by localguards as the commotionwascalming down herparentscould not be found and soon a youngcouple from a bakerytookcareofher.Livingevencloser to the slums thenshehadpreviously. A break in and pressure from localthug’sbraveenough to movetheiractivitiesthisclose to the richsidesoonshattered the littlefamily and Hanafoundherselfbarelyfiveyears old, snatchedup by a weirdburly man and broughtdeepinto the slums. Whathis intentions whereshewould never know. Dumpedintowhatprobablywashisownhomeshewasfounddays later by otherslookingthroughhis house as he never returned. Hanathenendedup in a brothel. Someof the girls and womentheretook a liking to her and didtheir best to keepheraway from seeingtoomuch. Butwhatcanyou do withlimited space and thinwalls mixed withdruggedpeople. Oneof the olderwomentook a pity on the child and onedayfinallyhadoneofhercustomerssheknewwell to bringHanawithhim.

It wasbetterthan the brothel and the confusedlittlegirlwhohadbarelyhadtime to take in the manyexperiencesnowlookedwithbigeyes at the sudden calm dark space thatwould be herhome. Butifshehadavoidedphysical pain quitewell until nowthatended in thisplace. It was a brittlefamily and soonHanalearnedthatshadows and small placeswhereher best alliesagainst the beatingthatwouldsurely come. Just knowingwhenwas hard, it all depended on whoof the twowas the mostaffected by opiates or alcohol.
It wouldtaketwoyearsbeforeHanawasmovedagain taken in by anotherfriendof the parentsshehad at the time.
Unfortunately,this new womanhad a man in herlifewhosawHana as a nuisance for livingtherebutalsosawthatshecouldbecomesomethingwhenolder in the businessesheran, and investing in futuregoodswas never wrong.
Oneevening in a fight with the woman the man lashedout and stabbedher in a fit ofrage. OnlywhenHanabegan to scream and crydid the man realizewhathehaddone. Blaming the child for hismistakehetookher to hisowngang’sbrothel and dumpedherwithwhatonlycould be seen as slaves and toys.
Luckilysheonlyspent a fewtraumatizingdaystherebefore the placewasraided and a chance to escapepresenteditself. Herescape from the black holewas short and shewassoon stuck runningerrands for the peoplewhohadraided the place. Children wheregoodmessengersapparently,butalways in need to beingremindedwhotookcareofthem. Theymarkedhertoopushingthe girl down on herstomach and then scraping withsharp pain on herlower back. Shecouldbarely walk afterwards and for how long it had gone on shewasn’t sure. They had hit herheadwhenshestruggled.
Shecouldn’treallycounttimearoundthis part ofherlife. Theyputsomething in herfood to keepherobedienteventhough it wasprobably not evenneeded. Heronlyconceptoftimewasherownbodychanging and so didothersnotice as well. Because suddenly the drugwasremoved and shewasleft to deal with the withdrawal on herown. From that moment on a scary man tookher under hiswings. Sayinghewouldtakeherofherifshetookcareofhim,shedidn’treally understand whathemeant by thatuntilhestartedhurtingher. The firsttimeswhere the worst and therewasbloodbuthethendruggedher as he got boredofherunwillingmood. In herownluckhewaseasilybored in general and soongrewboredofher as a whole, tossing the girlaside like scrap. Yetfreedomwould not allowheruntilshewasnearingherthirteenthbirthday. Afterthatshemade the small pathways and shadowsherfriendsalongwithwhat animals thatresidedthere. Humans were not trustworthy and thatwasher best weapon in the years to come.​

The border between the two parts of the city was hard to miss. The space was a blur between safety and danger. Allowing the weaker to survive away from the worst of the slums but only to gaze upon what was the richer parts of the city. Hana quickly found her way to these parts. Here the trash was richer in things that could be used or eaten and people tended to be kinder or at the very least more ignorant of her presence.
But this part of town had its own price and unspoken rules no one who lived there dared to break. Of course exceptions existed but they were quickly punished and openly so. So as to deter others from trying the same thing. Oblivious the girl found out about the rules the hard way. Whipped publically and then thrown into the gutter she was sent crawling back into the back alleys to lick her wounds. The years that passed then did not contain much Hana learned that she could get food trough different ways beyond going through the trash and stealing. Though she avoided most of the options to the best of her abilities. As the girl grew taller the shadows became smaller and unable to hide her like they used to. And danger sought its way to towards her more and more often. It was in her Seventeenth summer that the girl stumbled upon a large change in her life. Straying out towards the edge of the city an area that Hana had never really neared nor payed attention to before. But that now offered refugee and larger shadows to hide within. In one such shadow in what probably had been a large garden once. Hana discovered a weirdly shaped rock.

Strangely drawn to this rock and its warmth, the girl found herself spending many nights curled around it. Well protected from the weather by the thick plants growing over the larger stones surrounding the spot. Then one evening as the girl got comfortable for the night. The rock shock nudging Hana’s stomach as she was lying down. Shocked by the event the girl froze for a moment before instinctively curling up close to the egg and then with a tilted head she gave the shell a light knock to encourage her new found friend.
Her new partner would be a great help in Hana’s life but alas also a great danger that would drive the young woman from the city to protect the little dragon from discovery.

Spoiler(Move your mouse to the spoiler area to reveal the content)

All she had to go on was the iron scent hanging in the air and some red spotted leafs marking the trail of the animal. It was wounded and it was big. And to Hana that was a chance to a proper meal for the first time in days.
The girl was ill equipped to handle living outside a town and so far only berries, some plants and one or two small animals caught by Myria had filled their diet along with the bread she brought from town.
And now her stomach growled and the mouth watered at the thought of actual meat as she pushed the branches of a bush aside and hastily wandered in the tracks. Finally, she caught a fresh look at it far ahead.

The antelope was taking its final breaths by a big rock slowly bleeding out from a deep gash into its side. It was amazing how far it had managed to move and now Hana had a chance to nourish herself with its energy as it passed away. Hurrying up to the fallen creature it's final breath left it, the stomach sinking and the head falling to rest in the grass.
Myria stirred in the wrapped rags on Hana's back awoken by the smell of food and something else, the small creature let out a warning sound to her partner who quickly moved to the other side of the animal searching what few rags covered her body for the small weapon she had whilst turning around.

Ryyker was laying in the tree him and Orthrax decided to take for the night, but Ryyker sits up as soon as he relished he could smell blood, Orthrax lifted her head also and Ryyker looked around for it and say that it was an antelope that was breathing heavily under his tree. What a stroke of good luck he hasn't had, meat in a long time. Ryyker drew a sword from its sheath and leaped from the tree slashing his sword down on the Antelopes neck taking the head off. He raises his hand in victory. "Hey Orthrax looks like we will eat good the next couple days."

Ryyker was laying in the tree him and Orthrax decided to take for the night, but Ryyker sits up as soon as he relished he could smell blood, Orthrax lifted her head also and Ryyker looked around for it and say that it was an antelope that was breathing heavily under his tree. What a stroke of good luck he hasn't had, meat in a long time. Ryyker drew a sword from its sheath and sees a person run under his tree with a weird thing on their back, he drops out of the tree in clear view. "Who are you and what are you doing here."

The man came from above and landed in front of her instead of the expected approach from the bushes like she had thought.
She jolted back like a scared animal now holding her small knife in front of her, not answering his question but instead letting her eyes sweep the surroundings and then up at the tree without letting him fully out of her sight.Is he alone? Why was he in that tree, oh crap is that another sword?
The thoughts swarmed her mind.
Getting meat would be nice but she wasn't foolish enough to chance her life over food against a foe that was clearly better equipped and in better shape than she was.

Not to mention Myria was getting upset only able to guess what was happening from Hanas back and the little hatchling was not happy with this. Twisting silently to get her head out for a proper look. well as long as she remains quiet this shouldn't get worse. The girl thought desperately trying to figure out how to escape without getting slashed.

Ryyker watch's the girl with her knife in front of her, keeping his swords at the ready. "You know there is enough meat her to feed the both of us I wouldn't mind sharing and that seems just about right when you did all the work but if not then we will just have to see how this goes." Orthrax was watching from the tree blending in to the shadows.

What he said sounded too good to be true to the girl, and she squinted her eyes at his words. But since he didn't seem all too eager to fight. Hana relented with a slow release of breath and gestured towards the animal with her knife. “Then, take what you need, and back off!” Forced to raise her voice to hide Myria’s increased frustration at not getting loose from the cloth. Hana gave it a hard nudge with her elbow, which caused the hatchling to curl up and shiver.

Though maybe it was good. She was standing in front of a man after all, and from what Hana knew most men where just trouble and pain. And coming of as aggressive could at times make them avoid a confrontation. The girl begun chewing on her lower lip from the stressful situation dragging on.

"Hey there is no need to be so mean here I mean you no harm, maybe you can help me out I seem to have trouble starting fires maybe you could give me some pointers?" Ryyker crouch's down near the dead animal and begins to cut pieces off. There was a little squeaking sound from the tree and Ryykers other hand goes to the hilt of his sword as he stares at the girl in front of him, waiting for a reaction.

Hana couldn't help to raise an eyebrow at the bizarre idea of them. Two complete strangers, and he pretty much asks her to stick around for dinner.
The thought of it is distracted however by the squeak coming from up the tree, Hana stares at the branches before she hears Myria let out squeak of her own in response to the other Hatchling. The situation was again moving towards being strange and a bit tense for both sides. Is that what i think it is?
Confused but also well aware of the man's now tense stare in her direction clearly showed that he wasn't too happy about this change.

Ryyker heard the squeak from the girl in front of him. "Is that sound what I think it is? If so we may have a common goal in mind, that is if you even know what the hell is going on, so why not stay and we can talk and find out what's going on because if we have a common goal in mind we may as well get to know each other and become partners."
"maybe" She responded to his question. Still his blunt way of suggesting things really rubbed her the wrong way, but she was curious on how this man had a lizard like the one following her around. And as much as this situation told her to bail like a thief. Curiosity reigned in her mind. "Fine i will help you with a fire, but keep your distance or i will cut you" She said with a warning tone not letting her guard down one bit except to glance at the tree and the creature hiding up there.

At least Myria seemed happy to have someone who understood her around though she still kept to the safe haven of Hanas back while making small sounds.

"Only a maybe that's too bad it’s always good to have partners you can rely on but I understand since neither of us knows each other. And don't worry I didn't plan on getting overly close with you. Mind if I see your lizard?" Orthrax was making small sounds in response to Myria. "If you do I'll have mine come down."

Hana didn't have much choice in the part of showing Myria or not. The little hatchling finally got its head free and peeked around Hana's waist, looking up at the tree. So far the man hadn't done anything stupid he wasn't likely to start anytime soon either.

"There it is, not hurried to see yours now about that dead animal" Hana felt annoyed towards his way of dealing with her, like she wasn't even much of a threat. She was more interested in the food now and her stomach's grumbling was reminding her of how hungry she really was.

Otrhrax uses its gripping claws to climb down the side of the tree looking Hanas way to see Myria but dosnt move any closer since Orthrax dosnt know Hana.

"Well there is mine, now if you want to start a fire then we can begin cooking this, if that sounds alright to you not that i really need an answer your stomach is speaking for you." Ryyker says remarking about the sound Hanas stomach was making.

Hana looked around before deciding on a spot and moved towards it leaving Ryyker to carry the meat, while she focused on making a place for the fire. It would take some time to get the fire started Hana wasn't very good herself with this, which dragged it out even more. Myria didn't stay in the rags any more but instead crawled out, and ran around gathering small twigs and branches. Small enough for her to either proudly carry or drag them towards the fireplace Hana had briefly dug into the ground.
But after many failed attempts a small flame slowly grew in size as the girl clumsily did her best to make it grow.

Seeing the girl walk away Ryyker assumed it was to find a good place for a fire, so he grabbed the dead animal and hoist it onto his back and follows her before dropping it to the ground. He decides to watch Hana try to make the fire so he can make it next time but sees that she isn't as good at it as he had hoped. "I see making fires isn't a talent that either of us seem to have." Orthrax seems to take an interest in Myria walking over to her and smelling her and walking around inspecting her.

Not really important to learn growing up in a city" Hana commented shortly while going through the sticks Myria had collected. The little hatchling was now busy with the other lizard investigating her.
The two circled each other curiously while the two Varionian's where busy figuring out how to cook the meat over the fire. To Hana the easiest way was to stick some meat to a stick and hold it over the fire until it seemed cooked enough. Grabbing some cut meat, the girl placed herself with the fire between them, and checked her knife once more.

Spoiler(Move your mouse to the spoiler area to reveal the content)

Yeah the city life seems almost easy compared to living off the land now that I'm out here." Orthrax continues to study Myria occasionally looking to Hana and Ryyker as well. Seeing Hanas way of cooking Ryyker decided to follow and found out it was quite an easy way to cook it. "So you heading to the mountains as well?"

That is in the direction im heading" Hana replied vaguely before trying the meat. It was burnt in some places but the fat had protected the meat beneath it which had a rough but juicy taste. In short the girl found it quite delicious and ripped of a small bite for her small companion to try as well.
While observing Myria try the food the girl drifted a bit in thoughts on the journey forward, while the world outside the city had less people it also had less available food and warm places to sleep.
And now she also knew that many things she had learned in the city was of little aid out here and encountering others or animals was lower but also more likely to take her by surprise.

Glancing over the small fire at the man with his two swords, the idea of joining together wasn't that bad of an idea. They did have higher chances of surviving. But at the same time she knew nothing about him. "Perhaps i won't mind if we journey in the same direction that we also walk on the same path heading there" She muttered before reaching for more food.

Well then we do have the same direction in mind." Ryyker took a bite of meat and enjoyed it so he took some more meat and cooked it before handing the stick with the meat to Orthrax that Orthrax was eating enjoying the taste of it. "Well working together will increase our chances of survival and will have a good chance of catching more animals meaning we will have more food that will last us longer." Then took another bite of meat.

Satisfied having eaten something Hana curled up closer to the campfire making herself comfortable and nodded at his comments. For once getting to eat her fill and on meat only made the girl drowsy and she had to fight to keep her eyes open.
Ryyker's presence being a motivation to not fall asleep for good reasons., But even so her head soon leaned on her knees lulled to sleep by the calming sounds of burning wood.
Myria looked up at her travelling partner and then glanced at the other two before moving over to Hana crawling through the rags to curl up near the girl’s chest.

"Well if your sleeping on the ground I think I'm going go in the tree guess I'll see you in the morning." Ryyker begins to climb up into the tree with Orthrax doing the same but they are sleeping a little distance away from each other due to the acid that leaks from Orthraxs body.

Relationships​

DRAGONNameMyriaGenderFemaleAppearance
Myria is a slender little thing, light on her feet and fast. her golden color is easy on the eyes with an almost warm shimmer that dances in the shifting light. With her light serpent like body Myria enjoys wrapping her self around Hana when she gets the chance for some warmth and comfort. With her horns and whiskers Myria often looks curious, even if she is not to the untrained eye. The behaviour learned from her partner and her looks enhancing this appearance.​

PersonalityTough love - Myria is not open with her affection towards those she cares about but rather does it in a more discreet way. Or trough body language which can at times appear a bit rough. ​

Decisive - Makingsnapjudgements is not somethingMyria likes and willoftenfrownabout. However,she is good at getting a graspof a situation and making a quick call to avoid fatal mistakes.​

Intelligent - Myria is a listener and someonethatoften has a reply to things or is foundbrooding over somelittlequestionthatintriguesher.​

Calm - “A calm mind willseethingsmoreclearly and take the right pathratherthan to stumble in the mud” is a favouritesayingMyria has pickedup from somewhere and somethingsheworks hard to live up to.​

Careful - Takingunnecessary risks or venturinginto the unknowndoes not sitwellwiththis dragon. She is morecomfortablewithtakingthings step by step ratherthanrushingheadfirst​

AbilitiesAir - Myria is also incorporated into the friendship to the air element just like her partner allowing her to also further her own abilities trough it's help.

Extra sensory- Being a Golden dragon that much enjoys knowledge and pursuing it. Myria has become adept at using her aura to view her surroundings in new ways, even allowing her to pinpoint where someone or something is. As the ability evolves Myria becomes able to trap a close enough individual or object and in some cases even render it unconscious.

StrengthsScholar - Grasping and understanding information has become second nature to the dragon who has developed a taste for knowledge.

Strategist - Myria is not someone who looks at honour or traditions for when getting into a fight. If violence has become the only option she will look for all options that serves her goals to victory.

Teamwork - With good timing for her actions Myria is an excellent partner in many endeavours as she has learned to observe from Hana and to adapt herself to the situation predicting Hana's need in time to fill in what gaps she can.

Evasive - Myria prefers a hit and run style of combat focusing on evasive movement and pin point strikes focusing on getting an advantage instead of direct combat.

WeaknessesWeak retaliation - While Myria knows how to get out of a fight she still has ways to go before she can properly strike back against an attacker or take full advantage of her evasive skills

Not a fighter - Myria is not a fighter, in a straight up fight she will mostly be at a disadvantage and will often try to pull away from the engagement.

Passive instincts - Myrias first instincts in physical conflict is to fall back and avoid it if possible making her especially vulnerable in surprise attacks where she can get caught between suppressing that instinct and reacting.

Hana’s trauma - If Hana has a has a bad memorytriggered it canstronglyinfluence the dragon as shestronglyfears to lose the Varoniangirlthatneedsnothingmorethanstability in life.

Bugs - Myria hates most bugs that tends to invade a place and cause discomfort and destruction. Spiders in particular makes the dragon cringe or even freak out. Mostly caused by some events that took place when she was still a hatchling​

Height: 5'0"Weight: 125 lbsHair: A wiry mess of dark curls that falls just past her chin; often appears chestnut in the light of a sun-speckled ocean.Eyes: Bright greenAppearance: Past: [x][x] Present: [x][x] Future: [x][x] Bonus: expressionsImages taken from dA user pheberoni
Although she stands at a below-average height and has few feminine curves to attract the eye, Cora poses a somewhat commanding figure due to her constantly aggressive stance and intense green eyes. Born into a clan of fishermen, she was built to do work: lean and hardy, with large, calloused hands and feet, and silvery scars on her face (including one pronounced, crescent-shaped scar beneath her left eye) and arms. Despite the rough edges, Cora has some conventional beauty to her. A tangle of dark curls frames her freckled cheeks, wide eyes, and full, rosy lips. If her face ever strayed from its usual sour expression to something more pleasant, Cora might even be considered pretty, or at least not terrible to look at. She usually wears dark, loose clothing to accommodate her simple fishing lifestyle, as well as a pair of worn leather boots and a light knapsack.

PersonalityReserved. Brooding. Mistrustful.
As a result of years of emotional and physical abuse, Cora has learned to keep her mouth shut in the interest of self-preservation. Tending not to speak unless spoken to, the young woman is typified by curt, short replies and a constantly wary expression. It takes persistence and time to break through her figurative armor, and she is very reluctant to express appreciation for others for fear of her trust being abused. This is a woman who has no skill or tact in building non-professional relationships.

Adaptable. Clever. Careful.
After being thrown around by people with power for so long, Cora is very skilled at adapting her strategy for survival amidst constantly changing surroundings. She has the intelligence and persistence to thrive in any environment, even when subjected to extreme stress; despite all odds, the woman clings fiercely to life and her right to thrive, and refuses to let another individual take that from her again.

Defensive. Accusatory. Hostile.
If Cora feels attacked in any way, she will leap to defend herself from the perceived assailant and probably form long-lasting grudges against them in an effort to protect herself. She is quick to accuse, quick to condemn, and is fierce in her actions, words, and convictions. This is not her natural state of being, but one developed after being continually torn down and kicked around by people who were supposed to have protected her.

Depressive. Bitter. Morose.
Being exiled from the Morgan clan after doing her best to play the role assigned to her took an enormous toll on Cora's self-esteem, trust, and basic happiness. She feels abandoned, she feels hurt, and she feels angry toward the people who said they loved her and didn't lift a finger to keep her in their lives... however, most of the resentment and hatred Cora feels is for herself. As someone whose entire value was reduced to a hand in marriage -one that she willingly threw away-, it is near-impossible for her to feel as if she's worth anything at all anymore.

Sympathetic. Gentle. Loyal.
Although Cora may seem crass at first glance, and at second glance (and at third), she has a tremendous soft spot for other victims of abuse, especially children, and has a strong maternal instinct over the less fortunate. Her battered heart is still gentle at the core, giving her a kinder side that, while rarely expressed, is extremely pure and generous. She forms fierce, unwavering loyalties to those who manage to earn her trust, and relies on them to ease her anxiety and depression.

Skills & Abilities
As someone who has leaved near and loved the sea for her entire life, Cora has a natural affinity for water that permeates her entire being. She is a strong swimmer, can accurately predict the movement of the ocean, and is capable of managing an average-sized vessel on her own. Although the woman is used to a thick layer of salt clinging to her skin like armor, she loves the feeling of being clean and bathes often, finding comfort in the feeling of water surrounding her tired body. This is an individual who is a sailor at heart, a woman whose first love was the sea and whose weary soul is refreshed and captivated with every glance toward the horizon above open waters.

Given this natural affinity toward water and given her hard, chilled heart, it is no surprise that when Cora develops her powers they will revolve around manipulating ice and cold. Though the strength of her ability is dependent on the level of humidity, she can draw moisture out of the air and cool the droplets to form all manners of shapes- serving as weapons, tools, etc. This ability can also be used to cool air itself, though manipulating it can prove tricky.

With training, Cora's body will become much more durable than the average human's; she will be able to hold her breath for ten, fifteen minutes at a time, withstand extremes in pressure and temperature, and take a excessive beating without sustaining excessive damage. An aptitude for survival will become a magical skill that has the potential to turn Cora into a force of nature that should not be underestimated. However, this ability does come with some limitations; for starters, Cora will not be able to access the maximum extent of her power immediately following the Pact. It will take months of building on existing skills and daily meditation for her to develop magical durability, and her metabolism will be extremely, often inconveniently, quick. Wounds will also heal much more slowly than the average human's, and illnesses are typically more serious and lasting.

Strengths

Knife Play. The children of Port Syren would often play with their fathers' fishing knives on the wooden docks, throwing them with conviction at posts and, occasionally, at each other. Cora is skilled at throwing knives, twin daggers, and, consequently, at hand-to-hand combat.

Body Language. Having withstood domestic abuse for years, Cora knows how to read body language and can see through lies and deception with ease. This also comes into play during combat, where the sailor is usually able to predict her opponent's movements and plan a counter with time to spare.

Aye Aye, Capt. Having grown up in a harbor town, Cora knows how to safely operate and manage a small sea vessel on her own. She has a deep, healthy respect for the ocean, and can predict its movements to a fairly accurate degree.

Intimidation. Though she stands but 5'00", Cora has an aggressive, commanding aura about her that is difficult to ignore. She is steadfast in her opinions, unabashed in staring at others, and moves in a fast, decided way that some more timid characters may find somewhat startling.

Braveheart. Loyal to her friends and dragon until the end, Cora has a certain bravado that carries her through situations in which their lives or well-being are at stake. She is willing to throw herself headfirst into danger if it means protecting those she loves.

Weaknesses

Communication. As expected of someone who has lived in an abusive household and then seclusion for years, Cora has trouble talking to others normally about her thoughts or feelings. Although she can be relied upon in battle and in other scenarios, the lady is careful to distance herself emotionally from others' more personal affairs, choosing instead to keep to herself and hide any emotions she may be feeling. This is a defense mechanism that often hurts more than it helps, as she tends to build stress with no means of release until she is literally incapable of functioning.

Finesse. The lady is not well-trained in more complicated instruments like the bow-and-arrow, and lacks finesse in her sword and dagger technique.

Anxiety and Depression. Cora is plagued by serious anxiety and depression, which can be crippling if left to build and build for too long. She suffers from anxiety attacks when reminded of her tumultuous marriage, which always leave her short of breath and in an uncontrolled panic. The depression can diminish her appetite, valor, and will to survive, though Cass is a blessing in helping her fight through the darkness.

Trust Issues. Understandably, Cora finds it extremely difficult to trust others, preferring to rely on herself; this leads to heavy pressure, feelings of isolation, and adds to her chronic depression.

Sleepy Time. If overused, her cooling abilities can also lower her body temperature drastically, usually causing sleepiness (she also feels sleepy when she gets too warm), and, at worst, hypothermia and burns.

Healing. As a result of her ability, Cora's body does not heal wounds as quickly as a normal body would. She is also at greater risk of infection and illness than the other riders are, even though her body can take a heavier pounding.

Brief History
Cora was born a Morgan, a name belonging to a very large and wealthy family of fishermen rooted in Port Syren (or, as they call it, Salt Haven). Unlike other, lesser members of the family, Cora was born to Jasper Morgan, the firstborn son of the Patriarch, an old, white-bearded fishlord by the name of Bernard Morgan. Despite her elevated status, Cora was put to work on the docks at the age of eight just like the other port children, and eventually earned the right to a boat of her own at age 12. The small two-man scouting vessel was hardly a ship, but Cora treasured her little boat over any other physical possession, spending her days out on the water or polishing its hull on the docks, making sure that its paint never cracked or collected grime.

As Cora soon found, however, her greatest asset to the Morgan family was not her love of sailing- it was her hand in marriage, a valuable bargaining tool to Bernard and his political plans. Not two years after receiving her boat, Cora was informed that she was engaged to marry an incredibly wealthy tradesman by the name of Darius Greene, who had finally agreed to break his neutrality after having done business in Port Syren for over a decade. Darius was a little over thirty, over twice the age of 14-year-old Cora, but she had been taught to put the needs of her house over her own ambitions, and thus married the powerful merchant without protest. The marriage alliance with Darius was huge for the Morgan family, bringing in a wealth of new business partners and trading outlets through which to extend their influence. Everyone was thrilled at the prosperous union; everyone, that is, but Cora, who had aspired to captaining her own ship one day.

In the months following her marriage, Cora discovered why Darius had never married before- the man was intolerable. His temper was ferocious, his sexual appetite insatiable, and his desire for power legendary. He was cruel to almost everyone who displeased him, and his mother (who lived with the newlywed couple), was even worse. She constantly berated Cora for even the most well-intentioned mistakes, and never ceased her mocking and tormenting. If Cora spoke out about her feelings or concerns, she would be smacked down -both literally and figuratively- at the hands of the Greenes. After about a year, the young woman grew so miserable that she met with her father and begged him to annul her marriage. However, after consulting with Bernard for approval, Jasper Morgan refused; although Cora was dying, the Morgan family was enjoying great success from their union with Darius.

Despite her growing depression, Cora grew strong. The beatings, rape, and general abuse never let down, but Cora grew a skin of steel to survive. She adapted, she changed into something harder and more bitter than the spirited 14-year-old who had entered the marriage, so that by the time she forcefully ended it at 17 years old, she was almost a completely different person.

The hardest part about ending her corrupted marriage was garnering the courage to do so, as there were dozens of priests allied with rival factions who were eager to divorce her. As expected, Darius was furious, and dropped all connections with the Morgan family, even going so far as to ally himself with the Blackfish clan instead. Although Jasper was secretly relieved that his daughter had gotten out of the poisonous relationship, Bernard Morgan was absolutely enraged at the actions of his granddaughter, and wasted no time in excommunicating her from the family. After being exiled from her own clan, no others would touch her- and so Cora Morgan reclaimed her little boat, which had since fallen into disuse, and adopted a solitary lifestyle in a dusty corner of the city. She caught fish and sold them for dirt prices, collected seashells and other pretty artifacts, and generally struggled to stay afloat- but it was worth it. Even if she saw the contemptuous faces of her former family in the streets, even if she occasionally caught a glimpse of Darius himself ... It was preferable to the hell she had endured for over three years. Cora may have been broken, but she was free.

During her time alone, young Cora met a kindred soul in Calina Akassa, another formerly-high ranking exile from a rival faction whose exploration with love had ended in tragedy. Although quietly resentful of the redhead's willingness to abandon her family, Cora understood that, at times, two heads were better than one- especially when both of those heads were homeless and without prospect. While Cora and Cal weaved in and out of one another's lives over the course of a year-and-a-half, they always seemed to come back together, drawn by the inescapable strings of fate to be partners in survival.

Around a year and a half after ending her marriage, at 18-and-a-half years old, Cora took Cal out for a fishing trip that ended in a life-changing discovery: two mysterious eggs sitting amidst stormy seas.

Discovery of a Lifetime(Move your mouse to reveal the content)Discovery of a Lifetime (open)Discovery of a Lifetime (close)

Calina sighed as she bent over trying to get the last of the grime off of her boat, named Le Anglaria, before Cora arrived. They were going out on a fishing trip, hoping to bring in enough food to support them both to last for about a month, and bring in a livable amount of money. The latter was probably very unlikely. Cal was sore from scrubbing the decks, making sure the rigging lines were secure, and that everything was prepared.

Finally, the last of the dirt came off, and she stood with a low groan. Her back would attest to this later on. She had grown up as a beast tamer...not a fisherman. But she was learning, as Cora seemed to be an excellent teacher. Cal headed below deck to make sure Cora's room was stocked and ready. Clean bunks, sheets, pillow, all the necessities. After Calina finished her last minute work, she headed up top, and sat on the dock of her boat, letting her legs dangle out over the edge, waiting for Cora to show up.

With clouds swirling overhead and a cool breeze playing through her thick, wiry curls, Cora considered the possibility of a storm as she wound her way through the alleys and passageways of the Port, making her way to the smaller, generally unused docks near a set of rough cliffs. Larger boats disliked maneuvering around the sharp rocks, but the space suited Cora and Cal's smaller vessels well, and shielded the pair from prying eyes. Scrambling down the gravelly slope, the woman's green eyes scanned the harbor for a familiar carrot top, and, sure enough, found it milling about a gently bobbing white boat like an insect.

The sight of Calina brought about conflicting emotions within Cora's already-turbulent heart, as it always did: relief, resentment, apprehension, mistrust. Although the pair were bound in many ways, they still had much to learn about one another- a difficult task considering they were both about as emotional as rocks. In any case, Cora knew they had a job to do today, the same job as the day before, and the day before that: to make as much money possible with the limited resources they had. Luckily fish were plentiful in the ocean, and Cal was a fast learner- hopefully they would bring in a solid catch despite slightly turbulent waters.

As the sailor neared her partner's boat, she raised a hand in a stiff greeting, and wasted no time in hopping aboard. "Ready?"

Calina had stopped mourning her beloved some time ago, but to this day she was reminded of him by little things. Today it was the soft, choppy waters with the sun rising in the horizon, but clouds quickly dimming the horizon. He loved these types of days, and would drag Cal from her warm bed to come see the sunrise. She took a deep breath, breathing the salty air in. She felt at home here, more so than in her small cabin outside of town. The sound of footsteps resounding from the wooden docks broke Cal out of her reverie. She glanced over to see Cora boarding the small vessel. Cal's face remained neutral as she stood as her partner approached. "Ready?"

Cal nodded and set to untying the lines that held the small vessel to the docks. Soon enough, the duo was headed out for open sea. "Any trouble in town?" she asked as she adjusted the course slightly. A storm may be brewing, but they would get the job done. While she was uncomfortable with Cora, she did what needed to be done to survive. She always had this sense of resentment bounding whenever Cora was around. She shook it off, saying it was probably her imagination.

"How far out do you want to go today?"

Within minutes the pair were sailing, and with every small wave crested Cora's shoulders released some of their tension until she was almost smiling as the small vessel skipped across the water. "Only the usual. Merchants forgetting to mind their own business, kids wrecking everything ..." Captivated by the sight of waves splashing against the side of the boat, it was a moment before the sailor added, "Not too bad." The vessel charged bravely forward, powered by the lively breeze- but oddly quiet on deck.

There was a moment of silence before Cora responded as she scoped the horizon knowingly. "Should only be about ten more minutes. We're moving fast." Although she didn't want to disturb the larger ships and gain unnecessary attention, the fisherwoman thought herself entitled to some of the better fishing grounds near the shore. It was a dreamy, hushed ten minutes as a sudden feeling of longing came over her, a strange beckoning that only strengthened as the pair sailed further out to sea. Something's out there. Cora said nothing to her partner, but scanned the water carefully as the wind pulled them closer and closer to an unmarked beacon.

Cal nodded knowingly. Town was often....unpleasant for exiles like themselves. People tend to treat you worse then they do the family dog. She noticed the familiar ease in Cora's posture as they sailed further out. She knew her colleagues love of open water. Her own tension started to ebb away the further they got from town. It was a quiet ten minutes. She sat pondering in her thoughts until she felt this pull towards...something. She sensed something close. She left the wheel and threw the anchor down. As she leaned over, easing the chain over the edge, something caught her eye. "Cora, come look at this." A small object was floating on the water. She leaned over, reaching. She was just able to grab it and lift it over the railing.

"What the heck?" She twisted and turned the object in her hands. It was perfectly smooth with no blemish in sight. Silver in color, the object kind of glimmered in the lighting.This thing was no piece of driftwood. "What do you think it is? Some kind of egg?" she asked, although if it was an egg, it was larger than any one she'd ever seen or heard of.She looked over the edge, and could briefly see a similar looking object at the bottom of the shallow water. "It looks like there's another one at the bottom there." she said. Beckoning Cora to see it as well.

The boat was just sailing into slightly more shallow water as the attractive feeling reached its height, sending Cora, head pounding, over to grip the railing with white knuckles and stare out over the coursing waves. Slowly, the vessel came to a halt. So Cal felt it, too. Wary of some coral dragon's magic, the woman peered suspiciously into the depths and scanned the bottom for any signs of movement. Green eyes, however, were drawn straight to a curiously shining, cobalt object lying half-embedded in the sand.

Cal suddenly cried out and reached to swat a similarly-sized, silver sphere out of the water; it, too, glimmered with an unusual iridescence that was impossible not to admire. "I ... I don't know," the older woman murmured, though her gaze was swiftly drawn back to the object still sitting patiently in the sand. Without thinking about it, Cora pulled her cable-knit sweater over her head, stripped her breeches away, and climbed onto the edge of the boat, her bare feet gripping the edge of the railing with but a moment's hesitation; within in a half-a-second the sailor was diving through the clear, green water, her bright eyes keen on a certain shimmering object only a few feet away ...

With a gasp, Cora re-surfaced and hoisted herself up with one arm, the other wrapped snugly around the mysterious trinket. Huddling against the wall, the woman took a moment to assess the ... the egg that was practically humming in her shivering hands. It gleamed sapphire, with curves and ever-shifting lines that looked like a rolling sea of jewels. Trembling, she looked up to where Cal was staring at her own bauble, similarly transfixed.

Calina saw Cora jump overboard to retrieve the other object and winced. That water had to be cold. Her attention was drawn to the egg in her hand, for that was the only explanation for its perfectly smooth surface...it was thrumming in her hand. She felt something whenever she touched it, like...she had no idea. She hugged it close to her bosom, feeling warmth spread like wildfire through her chest. It was like she was meant to find that...she felt something...affection? She hadn't felt affection for anyone or anything since Joshua died. How can this object create such an emotion in me that I thought I would never feel again? How is this possible after mere minutes of its discovery?

Hearing Cora gasp for air and clamber back aboard Le Anglaria, Cal glanced up to see an egg identical to hers, only dark blue, like a sapphire color. She met her gaze shortly before turning her eyes back to her own thingamajig that garnered her affection so quickly. Not even Cora was able to get past the outer shell that is herself. She couldn't take her hand off it....it was as if she were to let it go, this feeling of...completeness would leave her crippled.

She looked up to see Cora carefully inspecting her egg. "Let's go home." Without waiting for a response, Cal stood from her position, silver in hand, and headed to draw up the anchor. Seemingly of it's own accord Le Anglaria turned and headed back to port. Something was up. She wasn't steering....Calina headed back to the main deck, and sat across from Cora...She felt the familiar surge of anxiety flowing....starting to hyperventilate, Calina felt a panic attack coming. Taking as deep breaths as she could, she clutched her egg closer with shaking hands. Weirdly, as soon as her flesh made contact with the egg again she felt a calming flow through her. Slowly but surely the panic attack left, and she was sitting staring at this beautiful object that had manage to soothe her...

"What in the hell is going on?"she wondered aloud as the boat sailed straight up to the dock of its own accord. Standing again, she tied the back lines to the dock, and hopped off deck, knowing Cora would probably get the front. As soon as she hopped off her boat, Cal slid her egg into her bag. She didn't want any trouble, and she sure as hell wasn't losing that egg. Already she felt as if she would be torn in two without it....."Head to my place?" she said as Cora stepped off Le Anglaria back onto dry land.

Shivering whether by the intense cold or the presence of the egg, Cora decided that clothing was probably a good idea, and yanked on her sweater and breeches. Keeping the egg tucked against the gooseflesh of her stomach, the woman tugged on her socks and boots and tried to ignore the euphoric effect the sapphire bauble was having on her normally-stoic self. It was magic, it had to be- but, surprisingly, it didn't feel like a bad kind of magic: the feeling in itself was suspicious, but Cora wasn't afraid of the little round sapphire clutched close to her stomach. Although the partners had barely been out on the water for half an hour, Cora did not protest her colleague's assertion that they head back for shore.

The sailor wasn't at the wheel, but she could feel the boat swinging around in a very unnatural way, almost as if the water were ... pushing them back to shore like a great hand clasped around the body of the vessel. If sailing out had been quick because of the wind, sailing back into the harbor was like lightning, leaving the pair of exiles with naught to do but tie their boat down with confused hands. Cora nodded briefly at her partner's offer. "I think that'd be best. We ought to crack these open." Still holding the egg against her stomach, the woman continued, "Something's off."

What scared her was that something seemed right.

Cal nodded, agreeing that something was off. "You may want to hide it, It looks valuable, and someone may think you stole it." She said as she gestured to the egg clutched to Cora's stomach. Without waiting for a response, she turned and started heading to what's been home for the past four years. As they wound through the back streets, trying to avoid the main population as much as possible, Calina clung to her bag as if it were her lifeline. She tried to play it casual, but pickpockets were common on these roads. She wouldn't let anyone take her newfound trinket that had awoken an emotion that she thought was dead.

She felt water splash on her arm; it started to rain slightly. Hearing the familiar whispers she hid a smile from her companion. She loved the rain.

Finally they reached the outskirts of town and Calina led Cora into her small cottage. Immediately snatching the egg from her knapsack, she dropped the bag and held it close to her once more.

No sooner than her arms were around the silver egg than it started moving. Gasping softly, she held it up to observe it...little cracks were?starting to show. What? Oh! It was hatching! Softly, Cal set her egg on the table, staying close by its side, eagerly awaiting to see the creature that emerged.

Slowly but surely, the creature inside chipped away at its prison. "Come on, little one." She whispered softly. After about ten minutes of trying to be patient, the egg finally shattered. Calina stared at the amazing creature before her. Her...scales?....we're silver, and her eyes were as blue as the night sky. The mall Dragon met her eyes and cooed softly, melting her heart. Reaching her hand out slowly, Calina stroked the dragons head. Where her wings should be were just bone outstretched. She figured the webbing may grow in later. She met Cora's eye, a look of awe in her own.

She sat on the ground, legs crowed and the hatching crawled into her lap and rested her head on Cal's stomach. "This is...unreal." She though aloud. Cal cuddled the being softly, scared that if she was to rough, she would break the young dragon.

Okay. She had to have a name, she sensed her Dragon was a girl so it would hAve to fit. What to name her? After a few minutes, she chose the name she and Joshua had picked out for their first daughter..."Hello, Kilyria." She said softly. At hearing her name, Kilyria cooed and bounced slightly with excitement.

Cal looked at Cora, she knew she had to leave, but was unsure as to whether Cora would go. Reluctant to leave her partner behind because they had worked up a good system. They made each other's lives easier by helping each other. How hard would it be on her own, if Cal were to leave. She wouldn't breach the subject now, she waited for her thoughts first. To see how she reacted.

Although she was vaguely aware of Cal's ginger hair leading the way through the crowds of the Port before her, on the entire trip to the younger woman's cottage Cora felt as if she were walking on a cloud. Noises seemed dampened as if chatting passerby were holding rags over their mouths, colors of the market blurred together into one soft rainbow, and at one point thick, warm drops began to fall from the sky, though the sailor hardly noticed it. All of her attention was focused on the trembling object pressed firmly into her stomach, hidden away behind a heavy sweater and a well-placed knapsack. The egg seemed to draw upon her energy and composure, leaving the woman with naught but giddy, quivering nerves as she hurried through the streets of the city.

Ruby, chapped lips parted in a sigh of relief as Calina's small cottage came into view, and the two women hurried through the front door and into the main room with intent in their step. While Cal went to set her silvery egg on the table, Cora sat down on the floor with a heavy thud and gingerly placed the beautiful, shimmering cobalt egg on the ground before her. No sooner had she reached out to stroke its rippling side when a gaping crack appeared, startling the sailor's hand back to rest on the dusty floor. Green eyes strained forward in attempt to decipher the contents of the eggs, but found no hints within... And so Cora sat, enraptured, as crack after crack appeared on the beautiful egg's surface, each contributing to form a jagged but elegant spiderweb.

Around ten minutes passed before the largest crack of all materialized diagonally across the face of the egg, slicing its surface into two roughly equal parts. The top half slid off after a moment, and the entire sphere suddenly rolled forward, depositing a slimy, wriggling creature onto the floor with a wet plop. Startled, the fisherwoman took a few moments to inspect the being before her, marveling at its soft white body and tiny claws. Soon enough she also noticed the small, fragile wings plastered to the creature's back. It was, unmistakably ... "A dragon?" Cora asked incredulously, and as if in answer, the hatchling opened its eyes to look at her with a calm and rosy gaze. An albino dragon. Giving a chirp of delight and straining forward toward her, the baby began slipping around in its own fluids and tripping over its enormous feet in excitement.

Cora, however, was overwhelmed. She threw up a hand and cried softly, "Stop that! I need to think." Immediately the hatchling stopped in its tracks, collapsing into a heap and staring patiently at her through rose-colored eyes. Although she could have used the younger girl's input, one backward glance revealed that Calina, too, had a young dragon sitting before her, and was similarly overwhelmed. Why in the world were two dragon eggs floating off the shore? the sailor wondered in exasperation, putting a hand to her temple. Will their mothers be after us? At an utter loss, she turned her attention back to the small creature huddled at her feet, which was still looking expectantly in her direction.

At Cora's stern gaze, however, the baby's eyes seemed to expand with love and genuine affection, holding her in what seemed to be the highest possible regard for a newborn dragon. Somewhat startled by this heartfelt expression, green eyes blinked once, and then twice before the sailor finally softened and opened her arms. After all, someone needed to take care of these dragons, at least for the time being ...Giving a delighted chirp, the hatchling wasted no time in folding into the fisherwoman's warm woolen sweater, and Cora was surprised to feel the coldness of the baby through the thick material. "Well, we'll just have to warm you up." She tucked him beneath the sweater and shivered a little as gooseflesh formed on her stomach, but did not dare complain. Something about this small, innocent creature pressed close to her heart felt enormously right, as if they were destined for one another ...

Shaking off the preposterous feeling, the sailor turned to her companion and shrugged, trying to play off her excitement as best she could (and failing miserably). "Cal. Now what?"

Kilyria was shivering but it wasn't from the cold; it was from sheer excitement, also a bit curious. She bounced slowly in Calina's lap and hopped out and ran a circle around her and jumped on Cal's shoulders. Cal smiled a genuine smile for the first time in years at the young hatchling's antics. Letting out a small chuckle Calina reached up and brought the small dragon to her bosom, under her shirt where Kilyria curled up and rested her head on Cal's shoulders. Gasping softly at the rush of emotions flooding through her, Cal breathed in a deep breath and let it out slowly, enjoying the feel of her dragon's scales resting on her. This had to be a dream....this couldn't be real. Dragons were extinct, weren't they? Well, most of them were. Yet here they were. Two dragons, hatched for them. She couldn't wrap her head around it.

She met Cora's eyes as her own egg had hatched into...an albino dragon? She watched Cora's startled reaction. Cora looked just as overwhelmed as she, only she handled it differently, putting a hand to her temple and not immediately embracing the young albino. Turning her attention back to her own dragon, currently snuggled in her shirt and breathing contently. Cal fingered the dragon's tail, it had a beginning of a mean looking club with a nasty hook on the end. That will do some damage in time. Every second that their flesh was in contact, the stronger the bond she felt with this wonderful creature.

She looked up as Cora addressed her. What now? Good question. She knew what she must do, but was reluctant to say..."I'm not sure. We have to keep them hidden, Cora. You know what would happen if they were seen. They'd be killed, probably us too...OUCH!" She exclaimed at Kilyria's sudden bursting out the top of her shirt to go explore her new surroundings. Her tiny claws had snagged a little bit of her shoulder, leaving a large scratch. She sighed. She met her acquaintance's eyes, green eyes locking in with hers. "They're going to grow....and grow fast. We won't be able to hide them for long..."She trailed off, still hesitant to say what she was thinking. "We need to leave Port Syren. Probably never to return." There, she'd said it. She had this feeling...they had to go north. Away from the sea...her heart tore. She loved the sea...the feeling of open water, the salty air, the scylla's and the seacat's roaming underneath. To go north would mean to leave them behind. She breathed softly, looking towards Kilyria, who was nosing around the cabinets.

Cal whistled softly, and Kilyria looked up and met her eyes. Squealing loudly with excitement Ki ran to her new best friend and sat on her lap, eyes looking up at her with eager expectation, awe, love, care, concern. Cal didn't know how to react to this, so she just ran her hand down the baby's back.

She met Cora's eyes once more and awaited her friends answer...

Cradling the dragonlet gently beneath her sweater, Cora listened quietly as her partner made a heavily weighted proposition, though on the inside she was screaming. "I don't know if I heard that right. You're suggesting we leave the port, Cal?" she asked after a moment, her voice thick and tone incredulous. Finding a newborn dragon was overwhelming in itself, and finding two was unthinkable, but the prospect leaving her home of nearly twenty years was somehow more preposterous than either."How are we going to make a living on the plains? Or in the forests?" the woman asked, her voice somewhat bitter."We can't take our boats upriver, and I don't know anything but the sea. How can we leave it, Calina? Why would we?"

Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, Cora pressed the palm of her hands into her eyes and absorbed the silence, thinking. Despite her misgivings, there was a quiet voice inside of her saying, 'do it.' Leaving Salt Haven would finally put distance between her and Darius, and the mere thought brought tears to her eyes; but the port was her home, her destiny,and she was utterly lost without the calm presence of the ocean nearby. Every muscle felt locked in tension, and every particle of Cora's being was caught in the struggle of her decision for a few heavy minutes.

Suddenly a light touch on the stomach brought the sailor out of her reverie, and with surprise she peered into the neck of her shirt to see two calm, rose-colored eyes staring back at her. The hatchling had begun to knead at her abdomen gently, like a small pet would, and although the motion was small Cora felt all of the tension drain out of her almost immediately. A few reflective seconds passed until she spoke again. "We can take the river north and see where it takes us- maybe head for the forest, or the mountains to the west, where no one will bother us. I hear some of the smaller villages around there know a bit about dragons." Heaving a sigh, the woman reached under her sweater and stroked the sleepy newborn curled up against her stomach. "But this isn't going to be easy, Cal. If we're going to keep them ... It's going to be worse living than the past few years have been. And we'll have to be careful- so careful." Cora closed her green eyes as she awaited a response that she knew would result in her abandoning the only home she had ever known.

Perhaps her destiny was about to change after all.

Calina nodded, understanding the incredulous tone in Cora's voice. She could hardly believe she had suggested it herself. But a few minutes later Cora had heaved a sigh and consented. Cal shot Cora a sly smirk. "I was planning on trampling through the middle of town shouting that we had dragons, come and take them. Of course we'll be careful, Cora. Aren't we always?"Cal shot back. But as soon as she had finished speaking, Cal got up from the floor, put Kilyria on her shoulder and got her normal pack out. She filled it with a few days change of clothes, food to last for two for a few weeks.

After she was finished, she followed Cora to her place, and when she was ready they went out the back door with dragons in tow. As soon as the door slammed, Calina turned towards the sea at the connecting point with the river. They would stay near water, if she was going to give up the sea, she would not give up the river. Some flowing water had to be near to keep her calm. But this she knew:
She was never coming back.

And so the two young chosen one's began their journey of a lifetime. A journey very few have been picked for. A journey that will lead them to grow and flourish in a world they didn't even knew existed.
This, my friends, is where the story begins.

Now blessed with dragons but still cursed with exile, the two partners left Port Syren in order to make a new life somewhere, anywhere, else. Along with two new dragonly partners, they have been wandering, growing, and fighting for their right to thrive ever since.

Collab: Discovery of a Lifetime (Cal x Cora)"At Cora's stern gaze, however, the baby's eyes seemed to expand with love and genuine affection, holding her in what seemed to be the highest possible regard for a newborn dragon. Somewhat startled by this heartfelt expression, green eyes blinked once, and then twice before the sailor finally softened and opened her arms."
...
"Something about this small, innocent creature pressed close to her heart felt enormously right, as if they were destined for one another ..."

Cal(Move your mouse to reveal the content)Cal (open)Cal (close)

Collab: Discovery of a Lifetime (Cal x Cora)"The sight of Calina brought about conflicting emotions within Cora's already-turbulent heart, as it always did: relief, resentment, apprehension, mistrust. Although the pair were bound in many ways, they still had much to learn about one another- a difficult task considering they were both about as emotional as rocks."

DRAGONName: CassiusGender: MaleAppearance: [x]Image taken from dA user benwootten
From birth Cassius is alienated from his peers by albinism, a condition that causes brittle ivory scales and the sweet, rose-colored eyes that first charmed his rider Cora. Although starkly different in color from the characteristically-deep blue Sapphire dragons, the albino develops normally in almost every other manner. He begins life as a soft, pale hatchling whose clumsiness is unaided by enormous, webbed feet that seem more well-suited to water than land. A thick, crocodile-like tail is his only saving grace, and often serves as a balancing rudder even outside of the water. Undeveloped wings remain plastered to his back for several days, but unfold sporadically (and somewhat comically) in uncontrollable spasms as flight muscles begin to take shape. At this stage, Cassius is an adorable, chirping little thing who only worries his rider when he wanders out of curiosity, or when his brittle scales crumble like chalk beneath her touch as a result of his albinism.

At one-and-a-half years Cassius has grown into the size of a pony, with strong, well-muscled leg muscles as a result of constant swimming, and a long, thick tail that glides back and forth to propel him forward in the water. His feet and toes have elongated to better suit walking on land, though are still webbed to suit his semi-aquatic lifestyle. What was once a stubby nose has turned into a longer, more refined snout, with two sets of ivory juvenile horns that curve forward and slightly upward in a graceful circlet. Though not yet fully formed, his wings are already very long and wide, perfect for coasting along the path of a gently winding river. Still, his stark white scales mark him as an outcast among his kind, and he begins to notice differences that make him a lesser dragon than his peers, such as troubled eyesight and brittle, flaking scales.

At two years, the albino is around fifteen feet long, with a wingspan over twice the length of his body at around 35 feet. His tail is enormously large and well-muscled, at nearly twenty feet long and only slightly more narrow at its thickest than is his mid-section. An elegant, tapered head provides a 270-degree view of his surroundings, though his eyesight is generally poor due to albinism, causing him to rely upon excellent senses of smell, touch, and hearing to maneuver his way through the world. Three sets of smooth, curved horns are arranged on his head like a crown, and hard skin on the area behind them herald the growth of at least one more set before the dragon reaches maturity. Cassius is now well-suited for travel by land, water, and sky, possessing unique adaptations that allow him excellent dexterity on all three mediums. He is still at a slight disadvantage from other dragons due to albinism, but is a strong, healthy youth that is an otherwise excellent Sapphire specimen.

PersonalityShy. Nervous. Bashful.
Unlike some of his bolder peers, Cassius is not one for brash, daring moves; he is naturally quiet, speaks softly, and often stumbles over his words, though many find these little mannerisms oddly endearing. The white dragon is often overwhelmed when even gently confronted, and, to Cora's delight, is very easily embarrassed in front of others. Regardless, he and his rider rely on one another to soothe their mutual anxieties, and are completely comfortable around those for whom they deeply care.

Courteous. Friendly. Even-tempered.
Cora raised a well-bred, polite dragon youth who always remembers his 'please's and his 'thank-you's, greets others warmly, and tries to ease the discomfort his rider often causes. For one so shy, Cass loses his awkwardness around those who themselves are feeling insecure, and will do his best to facilitate an open and welcoming environment. It takes significant effort to draw anger out of the albino, though even then the feeling is always short-lived. Cora learns from Cassius's composure, and through her the dragon learns when to retain his backbone.

Empathetic. Understanding. Encouraging.
Where Cora can be unapproachable, Cassius is kind, gentle, and empathetic to those who need his counsel. He is characterized by his understanding, rose-colored eyes that seem to cradle the soul and soothe even the most frayed of nerves. The albino and is careful to create spaces in which others can feel safe, and will spend hours talking over another's troubles if they need an outside ear. This is not a dragon that loses his patience easily, holds grudges, or acts spitefully in any way.

Curious. Playful. Well-meaning.
Though he is generally a very serious youth, Cassius is not above the tricks and shenanigans of his peers, and often finds himself swept up in their many mischievous schemes. Cass may play around, but his jokes are always light and well-meaning, not intended to bring about any real harm. He is very insistent on others sharing in his amusement, which usually results in accosting Cora with all of the latest terrible jokes and riddles.

Uncertain. Self-doubting. Anxious.
Despite his charm and natural kindness, Cassius is still very insecure due to his albinism, which sets him apart from the other dragons in a very obvious, visual way. He feels inadequate, weaker, and more of a freak than his peers, especially as the clutch develops and the differences become more obvious. This underlying self-consciousness opens the youth up to a host of other minor insecurities, doubts, and anxieties that Cass struggles to handle on a daily basis. It's up to Cora to reassure her partner that he is valid, important, and worth just as much as the other dragons.

Abilities
As a Sapphire dragon, Cassius has a natural affinity for water that will develop into the power of ice manipulation as he matures and grows with his rider. Even without excessive moisture in the air, he will be able to form all kinds of shapes and tools out of ice, though is careful not to abuse his given Element and holds a healthy respect for the strength and fluidity of water in any of its three states. To a lesser extent, the albino is also able to manipulate liquid water and even steam, though usually for defensive or domestic purposes instead of attack.

With his species comes the breath weapon of a torrential water vortex, spinning in a cone shape from his open maw to envelop an unlucky target. This veritable fire hose of a breath weapon can pound its victims with the force of hundreds of gallons of water, and even has the possibility of drowning its target should Cassius be left with no other options. Although still a terrifying (and messy) display on land, this ability is best utilized underwater, where a literal whirlpool can form if used correctly.

Strengths

Charmer. One of Cassius's greatest assets is his indisputable charm. Although often fumbling and awkward, the dragon gets along with almost every human, elf, or dragon he encounters, and can use his mediating skills to settle even particularly nasty conflicts or tense situations. He is a mentor, a friend, and an ally to all, and has very few -if any- enemies that would wish him ill.

Strong Swimmer. As expected of a Sapphire dragon, Cass is a strong swimmer, and can hold his breath for up to an hour before needing to resurface for air. His powerful tail acts as a pendulum in the water, propelling him forward and acting as a fearsome weapon if needed.

Endurance. Both in water and in the air, Cassius is built for endurance. A strong build with thick, heavily-muscled legs is ideal for swimming, and his long, wide wings are made for long-distance flights across large bodies of water.

Weaknesses

Insecure. Due to his rare condition, Cassius is plagued by the fear of rejection. He is convinced that he is not worth as much as the other dragons, and fears he cannot contribute to the team in meaningful, important ways.

Albinism. Cassius's albinism causes his scales to be even weaker and more brittle than the already-thin scales of a Sapphire dragon, making it necessary for him to re-hydrate deeply and often. Because his skin is so sensitive, he also cannot be in direct sunlight for long lest his hide blister and burn. His eyesight is also very poor, especially as he matures, causing some issues that force him to seek outside help when he is unwilling to trust his vision.

Semi-aquatic. As a member of a species of dragon that derives much of its power from water, Cassius is at risk for serious health issues if he strays too long from the deep blue. If left dry for more than 12 hours at a time, his skin will begin to itch, crack, and even bleed in extreme cases, making him unsuitable for desert travel. Poor vision will become even worse, and his nerves will start to unravel more quickly than a ball of yarn in the hands of a child.

Small size. While larger than the average Sapphire, Cassius is still rather small among his peers. His tiny size make him a more difficult target to hit, but also puts him at a distinct disadvantage should he get into a scuffle with a larger beast.

Aggressive, mostly - my characters are, for the most part, natural leaders. They can take a small part of the story and run with it. However, this mostly depends on the GM and players around me and how much they're taking things upon themselves. I like balance in an RP, so I can play either side of this.

Favorite Genres:

Fantasy and Sci-Fi are my two major favorites. However, I tend to be quite the picky player. I prefer an RP with a great deal of development...the world, the lore, everything. And for those GMs looking for help with lore, I love to world build!

Genre You DON'T Like:

I'm not a huge fan of Libertine (obviously, since I don't have that part of the Resume filled out), but I particularly hate anything that involves as Master/Slave relationship. Don't expect me to even look at you should you offer that. I also am not a huge fan of RPs where gay couples are the main focus - it's not so much that I hate gays (as I really like a lot of them RT). It's more the fact that I don't know how to play one, as I, myself, am not gay. Finally, I will very rarely play a fandom RP unless there is a great deal of creativity from the creator that brings an element to the story that whatever it's based off of doesn't really have. On the ever, rare occasion, though, I'll make an exception to the fandom idea.

Alright! So, the day that marks the beginning of the last month of 2015 shall be the new beginning of this story. I know everyone is still quite busy, what with the holidays coming so quickly. BUT! We have time to relax a bit before the story starts. I want at least five players to get started...though I'd love the full listing.

This time, since I have so many dragons posted on my website (and it's not even half of all the dragons I actually have ideas for T_T), I figure what we can do, based on the interest gathered, is we can replace some of the chosen with the dragons that others are interested in (if they don't have descriptions, however, don't ask for them). I know @Bitterblue - you said in PM you were interested in the Bronze. I'm sure we can replace the Amber with it. The Silver has to stay, though...for story purposes. I'd also really love for someone to take the Obsidian, as they're very rare and special dragons.

Anyone interested in the Moonstone PM me...we'll go over the details together. Shirin's biography and relationships will be edited according to whoever gets the Moonstone.

TO ALL OF THOSE WHO DO NOT KNOW SHIRIN:

Shirin is my baby. My most prized character. Due to a bunch of STUFF happening in the original RP she was in, she died...so I brought her here with her faithful dragon, Byriarti. Any player who is to play the Moonstone will have a very special connection with Byriarti - which means the rider will have to deal with Shirin and have traveled with her for the past year and a half. This is why it is very important for you to PM me to work something out.

Those of you who wish to request a dragon that is not on the list, please PM me before posting a character sheet.

ALSO:

Those of you who find the Battle Sheets confusing, don't worry. Focus first on your character sheets. Once those are finished, we'll work on the Battle Sheets together!

FINAL NOTE (hopefully):

On the map, you will see various cities and towns...each one has their own description, which was determined in the last attempt at this RP. Within the next week, I'll be posting these descriptions up for everyone to see. If you do not like any of these cities/towns/villages, LET ME KNOW IN PM! We'll create another together, and I'll even put it on the map! Kabola is a MASSIVE PLACE, so there is more than enough space to create more places of note.

Aggressive, mostly - my characters are, for the most part, natural leaders. They can take a small part of the story and run with it. However, this mostly depends on the GM and players around me and how much they're taking things upon themselves. I like balance in an RP, so I can play either side of this.

Favorite Genres:

Fantasy and Sci-Fi are my two major favorites. However, I tend to be quite the picky player. I prefer an RP with a great deal of development...the world, the lore, everything. And for those GMs looking for help with lore, I love to world build!

Genre You DON'T Like:

I'm not a huge fan of Libertine (obviously, since I don't have that part of the Resume filled out), but I particularly hate anything that involves as Master/Slave relationship. Don't expect me to even look at you should you offer that. I also am not a huge fan of RPs where gay couples are the main focus - it's not so much that I hate gays (as I really like a lot of them RT). It's more the fact that I don't know how to play one, as I, myself, am not gay. Finally, I will very rarely play a fandom RP unless there is a great deal of creativity from the creator that brings an element to the story that whatever it's based off of doesn't really have. On the ever, rare occasion, though, I'll make an exception to the fandom idea.

Hello, friends! After having basically everything go wrong for a month or two, I've finally got my act together and am re-vamping Cora for this shiny new thread. ^^ Looking forward to RPing with old pals and meeting some new players as well! <3

Aggressive, mostly - my characters are, for the most part, natural leaders. They can take a small part of the story and run with it. However, this mostly depends on the GM and players around me and how much they're taking things upon themselves. I like balance in an RP, so I can play either side of this.

Favorite Genres:

Fantasy and Sci-Fi are my two major favorites. However, I tend to be quite the picky player. I prefer an RP with a great deal of development...the world, the lore, everything. And for those GMs looking for help with lore, I love to world build!

Genre You DON'T Like:

I'm not a huge fan of Libertine (obviously, since I don't have that part of the Resume filled out), but I particularly hate anything that involves as Master/Slave relationship. Don't expect me to even look at you should you offer that. I also am not a huge fan of RPs where gay couples are the main focus - it's not so much that I hate gays (as I really like a lot of them RT). It's more the fact that I don't know how to play one, as I, myself, am not gay. Finally, I will very rarely play a fandom RP unless there is a great deal of creativity from the creator that brings an element to the story that whatever it's based off of doesn't really have. On the ever, rare occasion, though, I'll make an exception to the fandom idea.

If you look at the top under the Dragons tab, the four dragons available are Turquoise, Amethyst, Amber, and Obsidian. The link to my site is below the list, and you can choose one of the other dragons, and I'll replace one on the existing list for you. ^^

Passive is my style. I mostly do side characters that act around the ones that are more in the center. Getting hurt, needing rescue, developing as a person that's what i feel the most comfortable with. im just not good at leading >.<

Aggressive, mostly - my characters are, for the most part, natural leaders. They can take a small part of the story and run with it. However, this mostly depends on the GM and players around me and how much they're taking things upon themselves. I like balance in an RP, so I can play either side of this.

Favorite Genres:

Fantasy and Sci-Fi are my two major favorites. However, I tend to be quite the picky player. I prefer an RP with a great deal of development...the world, the lore, everything. And for those GMs looking for help with lore, I love to world build!

Genre You DON'T Like:

I'm not a huge fan of Libertine (obviously, since I don't have that part of the Resume filled out), but I particularly hate anything that involves as Master/Slave relationship. Don't expect me to even look at you should you offer that. I also am not a huge fan of RPs where gay couples are the main focus - it's not so much that I hate gays (as I really like a lot of them RT). It's more the fact that I don't know how to play one, as I, myself, am not gay. Finally, I will very rarely play a fandom RP unless there is a great deal of creativity from the creator that brings an element to the story that whatever it's based off of doesn't really have. On the ever, rare occasion, though, I'll make an exception to the fandom idea.

Of course! Take a look at the dragons list at the top of this thread. Reserve whichever one you'd like.

Passive is my style. I mostly do side characters that act around the ones that are more in the center. Getting hurt, needing rescue, developing as a person that's what i feel the most comfortable with. im just not good at leading >.<

Passive is my style. I mostly do side characters that act around the ones that are more in the center. Getting hurt, needing rescue, developing as a person that's what i feel the most comfortable with. im just not good at leading >.<

Aggressive, mostly - my characters are, for the most part, natural leaders. They can take a small part of the story and run with it. However, this mostly depends on the GM and players around me and how much they're taking things upon themselves. I like balance in an RP, so I can play either side of this.

Favorite Genres:

Fantasy and Sci-Fi are my two major favorites. However, I tend to be quite the picky player. I prefer an RP with a great deal of development...the world, the lore, everything. And for those GMs looking for help with lore, I love to world build!

Genre You DON'T Like:

I'm not a huge fan of Libertine (obviously, since I don't have that part of the Resume filled out), but I particularly hate anything that involves as Master/Slave relationship. Don't expect me to even look at you should you offer that. I also am not a huge fan of RPs where gay couples are the main focus - it's not so much that I hate gays (as I really like a lot of them RT). It's more the fact that I don't know how to play one, as I, myself, am not gay. Finally, I will very rarely play a fandom RP unless there is a great deal of creativity from the creator that brings an element to the story that whatever it's based off of doesn't really have. On the ever, rare occasion, though, I'll make an exception to the fandom idea.

Alrighty! That leaves the Obsidian to be switched with the Sapphire, and we are full! Apologies for my delay. Christmas shopping has had me a bit busy here lately.

You may post the character sheets on here, but if you prefer going over them with me privately, you can PM me. It's whichever you'd like.

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